The Tides of Time
by T. R. Myers
Summary: The Doctor and Rose team up with SG1 to find out why a system lord would want their help.
1. The Visitors

The corridor was stark and dull. Gray concrete walls and a gray concrete ceiling stood above a concrete and metal floor. Numbers were painted on the wall next each dark gray steel door. Most doors had a small, rectangular wire mesh window inset into it. Some were solid. Pipes of numerous sizes ran along the walls. A klaxon wailed while a red light flashed high from the ceiling, in unison with another red light on the wall. A team was returning from an off-world mission. Enlisted men and officers of the U. S. Air Force strolled this corridor, oblivious to the screaming alarm, engaged in their routines. Some were going somewhere important. Others were going to a lunch break. Still others were ending a long duty shift, hoping to get some well-earned sleep so they could be fresh for their return to duty in the hours of the night.

This was Stargate Command, a secret base deep withing the mountain of Crystal Creek, somewhere in Colorado. From this facility, unbeknownst to the entire human race, an intrepid group of explorers risk life and limb on distant planets with technology the human race knew nothing of. It sounded glamorous, though if the team of SG1 were asked, they would say that that was only the half of it. There was always more to it than the advertising let on when it came to the military. Then again, these soldiers knew what they were risking when they signed up, even if they didn't know what they might be facing. Of course, that was life in general. One can never know what the future may bring...except perhaps, one man.

The MALP storage bay was never manned during the day. All the MALPs that were to be used for missions were prepared in the morning and made ready to go through the Stargate. If somebody had been stationed here, the base may have become aware of a strange sound in the corner. It sounded as if time itself were screaming in protest at the act of defying it. The sound was soon accompanied by a flash of light, and another, and another, as though another alarm had been sounded. Then where there was nothing, the most peculiar thing appeared. It was a box, a little blue box, with the words "POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX" glowing at the top. Instructions for use were posted on one door with a St. John's Ambulance seal posted on the other.

The alarm should have gone off again, this time signaling intruders, but it did not. It was the curious nature of the TARDIS that it was very good at being unnoticed, though not unseen. The door opened and a tall man stepped out. He had thick hair, very well styled with sideburns. He was wearing a brown coat and underneath, just visible was a blue suit jacket with matching slacks. Around his neck was a brown silk tie. His shoes were they only unusual part of his appearance. He wore red and white sneakers. Though his TARDIS may have gone unnoticed, he did not and when he stepped out, the security guard viewing the storage bay through a closed circuit monitor realized that something peculiar had happened. Just as the man's companion stepped out, a beautiful blonde girl wearing blue jeans and blue blazer, a voice blasted through the base.

"Intruders on the base! MALP storage four."

The man raised his hands immediately, in anticipation of the gun toting that would soon be there, and seconds later, they were. The man pulled the TARDIS doors securely shut and looked at the numerous barrels staring at him. The young girl next to him put her hands up together, strangely unafraid, and a bit inquisitive in her manner.

"So where are we, then, Doctor?" she asked.

As Sam Carter strode through the door, a gun ready, the Doctor said, "Oh, I think we'll find out soon enough."

Colonel Samantha Carter took in the strange of the blue phone box and then looked at the two passengers. "How the hell did you get in here?"

The Doctor said, "Would you like the long version or the short version? You actually look like you could handle the long version. You strike me as the scientific type."

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor."

"I'm Rose Tyler."

"And who are you, sir?" Sam asked a bit more firmly.

"Just the Doctor."

"Fine, 'Just the Doctor'," said Sam, slightly annoyed. "How did you get this deep into a top secret facility undetected? The short version now, the long one later."

"Would you believe we appeared out of thin air?"

"Try again, smart guy."

The Doctor smiled, "May I please put my hands down? I'm getting a cramp in my right shoulder. I promise I am completely unarmed." He put his hands down before waiting for permission and when nothing happened, he went on. "My ship travels by phasing in-between the space-time vortex and literally separating itself from the essence of existence and then reasserting its existence in a new temporal location."

Sam's eyebrows raised. "So you appeared out of thin air."

"You understood it the first time! That's impressive."

"After traveling through space and time."

Teal'c arrived, staff weapon in hand. The Doctor spotted him immediately. His expression was one of delight.

"You're a Jaffa!" The Doctor grinned toothily. "From the symbol on your forehead, I am guessing...first prime," he tapped his forehead, "of Apophis!"

"Who's Apophis?" asked Rose.

"Oh, he's a Go'auld. Nasty buggers. They're little snakes that burrow into a person's skull and take control of your body. I think he's dead."

"Indeed he is," said Teal'c, thoroughly confused.

Sam chanced a glance at the blue box again and then back to the patiently waiting Doctor. "Teal'c, do you think General Landry might want to meet this guy?"

"Indeed I do." Teal'c ordered the Doctor and Rose searched and restrained.

Walking down the corridor to the elevator, Sam couldn't help but observe the strange character. He observed the simplest details of Stargate Command with childlike delight. Rose Tyler was as normal as her name. She was a complete contrast to the mysterious Doctor. She would look around to observe her surroundings and would occasionally smile and even giggle when the Doctor became particularly expressive.

Teal'c, Sam and two guards escorted the Doctor and Rose on the lift, Rose said, "Doctor, what is this place?"

"You know," he said, "I wasn't entirely sure, but I think I may know, now. We're in a completely underground structure if those pipes and conduits are any indication. Obviously we're on an American military base; I'm guessing Air Force by the looks of the uniforms. The presence of a Jaffa almost certainly means there's a Stargate around here somewhere. So my first guess is, Stargate Command in Creek Mountain, Colorado or as conspiracy theorists lovingly call it, Area 52."

The elevator opened and the party stepped out. As they moved through more corridors, Rose asked, "And what's a Stargate?"

"An obsolete and unreliable transportation device that creates a wormhole, connecting one planet to another via two separate gates. The U. S. government began using it in secret in the late nineties and got into a heap of trouble. So much trouble, in fact, the Asgard decided to give humanity spaceships. Though if you ask Thor, he'll tell you he did it because he was impressed with a Colonel Jack O'Niell with two 'ls'."

This was too much for Sam who rounded on the Doctor and said, "I designed the first ship personally. Thor didn't give us anything. He helped. That's all."

"Right, I knew you were the scientific type. So, you designed a warp transmutation system that by rights humanity wouldn't have developed for another five-hundred years without Thor's help...with Thor's help? Did I catch all that?"

Sam was fuming. She burned to ask the Doctor how he knew all of this. She turned around and the party resumed walking. Obsolete and unreliable, indeed!

"Guess I better shut it, then," said Rose.

"It's not your fault Ms. Tyler," said Sam, a bit loudly. She shouted, "It's the motor-mouth you got yourself hooked up with."

Rose was laughing as they rounded the corner into a small room with four chairs and one metal table.. Sam forcibly sat the Doctor into one of the chairs. She then politely offered another chair to Rose, who was allowed to seat herself. Sam also removed Rose's restraints.

"We didn't find any weapons on you. I don't think you're going to do anything." She turned to the Doctor. "A few of the items in your pocket defied identification. What's this?" She held up a very small red box, three inches in length, with a ring out the end.

The Doctor nodded. "That's a reality filter. It lets you see things that are invisible."

Sam looked through the end of the ring. "Seems harmless enough. This?" She held up a metal ball with two pointed ends.

"That's a trinket. It's made from Bazoolium. It turns cold when it's about to rain and hot when the sun is going to shine."

Sam weighed it in her hand for a second and upon deciding that it wasn't going to do anything, set it back on the table. "Can you explain this device to me?" She held up a long metallic cylinder.

"That is a sonic screwdriver."

"A what?" Sam looked skeptical.

Rose said, "He uses it to open locks, repair machines...all kinds of stuff. It's his favorite gadget. He goes everywhere with it."

"How does it work?"

The Doctor said, "Sonic vibrations are used to loosen and tighten fixtures, cables, can disrupt or amplify electrical fields, that sort of thing."

"Is it dangerous?"

"If it were dangerous, I wouldn't carry it."

Sam turned the device over in her hands several times. "Cool. I'd like to see it work sometime."

The Doctor could now see the contents of his pockets laid out in front of him. He was reminded of a similar scenario long ago deep beneath the surface of the planet Skaro. There in front of him was a yo-yo, a pair of anaglyphic 3-D glasses, assorted pens, a fob watch, an ID wallet with the psychic paper inside, and a package of jelly babies as well as numerous miscellaneous items and paraphernalia.

"So," said the Doctor, "when do we meet General Landry?"

"First, you have be processed."

"I take that to mean I'm under arrest."

Sam said, "Do you really have to ask that?"

"So, I guess this the interrogation room where I'm supposed to spill my guts."

"This is actually an interrogation room, but that's not why we're here now. A clerk is going to ask you for the basic information: name, birth date, that sort of thing. You'll have to give clearance for a medical screening."

"I absolutely refuse."

"Sorry, you have to."

"I have a right not to. I don't even have to be a citizen."

"Okay, that means you will be in this room for a very long time. You are right. We cannot force you, but you have just come into a top secret facility without authorization under suspicious circumstances. We have every reason to check every possibility, including the possibility of contagion and we have every right to make it a requirement. Now, so far you've played nice. If you keep playing nice, maybe we can have a happy ending to this unfortunate episode in our lives."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows and said, "What if I tell you I have a secret I'd rather nobody know about?"

"Anything we learn here would be in the strictest confidence."

"What if I say I don't trust you to keep that promise? It's a big secret and I know how you people are. You tend to think things belong to you when they really don't."

Sam gave the Doctor a hard look. "I don't know what I can do about that. I do know that we keep some very unusual secrets here. You clearly know those secrets. I will tell you this. If you refuse to submit to a medical exam, you will be kept here until the Department of Defense decides what to do with you. I don't recommend that. We are not bad people. If this is all a mistake, we will understand."

The Doctor leaned back. "I suppose I have no choice."

Rose said, "Doctor, we could just leave. We both know they couldn't stop you from walking out that door if you really wanted to."

"Yes, Rose, but I'm playing nice, remember? Besides, there is always a solution to every dilemma. I would much rather not have any medical records exist at all, but since I can't have that, it'll be easy enough to figure out how to keep them secret."

Doctor Lam had never seen anything quite like this. The mysterious Doctor and Rose Tyler had been in the med-lab ten hours ago, and she still know how she would word her report. Rose Tyler was normal enough except for evidence of heightened activity in her hippocampus and cerebral cortex as well as an unusual white cell and t-cell blood count. Of all of the alien species she had encountered though, the Doctor was truly unique.

She looked at the clock on the far wall and realized she needed to have her report ready in seven hours. She took another look at the Doctor's encephalographic readings and that amazing EKG. She looked at the X-rays once more. She had to have a report ready, and if she wanted any sleep at all, she had to be finished very soon. She decided that she would simply tell them what she found, and leave her explanations for the briefing.

The next morning, while the Doctor and Rose waited in the holding cells, Doctor Lam stood face to face with General Landry, General O'Neill and SG1, Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Doctor Daniel Jackson, Vala Mal Doran, and of course, Teal'c and Sam Carter. The Doctor's x-ray's held the place of honor on the viewing window.

"I have seen a lot of aliens, and a lot of strange anatomy, but nothing quite like him," said Doctor Lam. "It's not the organ positions that really get me. It's the overall function that is absolutely astonishing. I don't know the half of what I'm looking at, and the half of what I do know would change the way we look at biology forever."

Doctor Lam moved to the viewing window. "Let's start with the obvious." She pointed at the x-ray. "Isotope injection with x-ray reveals a binary vascular system. Other than that, all of the normal organs you would expect except three I can't account for and one I think I've figured out. This organ generates a very unusual radiation. If the Doctor is injured, nothing happens, but I took a tissue sample and guess what happened. The radiation in the Doctor didn't do anything, but the cellular structure in the tissue sample began to change radically. I suspect that this mechanism only kicks in when the Doctor is fatally injured."

Sam said, "No wonder he was so reluctant to let us have a look at him."

General Landry said, "Tell us more about this radiation, Doctor Lam."

Lam turned to her father and said, "I believe that when the Doctor is dying, his body spontaneously regenerates. All blood and tissue samples are useless to identify anything about him except the nature of this regeneration. Every sample I took changed before I could finish testing. Changed. It became different blood. It became different flesh. Even the DNA changed."

"So if he changed, he would look different than he does now," said Daniel.

"He would have a completely new physical appearance. This function, I believe can only be used when death is near. The body won't regenerate unless it's in crisis."

Daniel had a peculiar expression on his face. "I think I've heard of someone like that."

General O'Neill glanced at Daniel and then back at Landry. "What if this guy is a threat? Can we take him down?"

"No. For all intents and purposes, he's immortal. There is one thing that won't change. There is a part of the brain that seems to be completely unaffected by this radiation, so he would retain his memory."

Teal'c said, "His behavior yesterday was completely benign. That, at least, bodes well for us."

Sam said, "What about Rose Tyler?"

Lam said, "Completely human, nineteen-years-old. She seems to have developed some telepathic potential. She probably isn't even aware of it. Her immune system is supercharged. Strange thing I found on her: her fingerprints and DNA match a fourteen-year-old girl in London, also named Rose Tyler." Lam looked at Sam. "Didn't you say in your report that you suspected time travel?"

"I did. Looks like you've found evidence for it."

Daniel said, "I'm going to see what I can dig up, but I'm pretty sure that he's mentioned at least half-a-dozen times in various myths and legends."

O'Neill said, "Go ahead and check, but I want to listen in on this guy a bit.

The Doctor and Rose were back in some kind of waiting room after a night, each in a tiny cell with an uncomfortable bed and no change of clothes. There was a television in one corner and there rows of chairs that reminded Rose of a doctor's office. A green decked guard had brought them both a tray with tea and two cups as well as a plate of assorted donuts. Rose used two creamers for her tea in absence of milk and commented on how biscuits--or rather cookies, since they were in America—would have been better with the tea.

The doctor looked around the room. The room had been designed to be cozy and inviting but the Doctor hadn't failed to notice that in addition to the plastic plants and purple cushioned chairs, there were numerous cameras and listening devices all over the room. The Doctor sat patiently, wondering if the technicians on this base hadn't yet destroyed his sonic screwdriver in an attempt to understand it.

"Doctor," said Rose, "why are we here anyway?"

"Well, the truth is, I'm not entirely sure."

"Where are we?"

"I told you yesterday."

"I mean, how did these people start traveling to other worlds? How come the rest of the world hasn't figured it out? I mean, you said they have spaceships! You also said this is 2003 and they'd been doing this since the early 90s. You'd think people would at least have found out by 2007."

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but I'll try it. In 1928, an archeologist found a device in the Egyptian desert called a Stargate. The device kept changing hands over the years but wound up in America in the 60s. Nobody could really figure out how to use it until 1994 when an archeologist named Daniel Jackson successfully deciphered the symbols on the gate. Very shortly after, they encountered the Goa'uld. Nasty creatures. They're parasites that take human hosts and basically control them. Well, everyone knows how secretive the U. S. is, and after this too close encounter of the unwelcome kind, the program was temporarily shut down until the government decided whether to ignore the apparent threat or face it.

"Ultimately, typical human greed won out and they decided to reopen the program with a plan to gain weapon technology to fight the nasty aliens. It was really just a ploy to not have to develop and discover technology on their own, but they had a legitimate reason. The Goa'uld knew about Earth again and the American military basically elected itself the defender of the world. A bit arrogant if you ask me.

"So, the people of Earth traveled the stars and met other races, such as the creators of the Stargate, the Alterans. There was another arrogant race. Everything they created was dedicated to mass destruction and they were idiotic enough to call themselves peaceful. Their allies, the Asgard, weren't much better. They posed as gods to the human race, Thor, Freyr, Odin and others and at the very least, the Goa'uld took their example posing as gods of various pantheons. One good thing to be said about the Alterans and the Asgard was they were concerned with the defense of life.

"The Asgard have been helping the members of this base defend Earth, but they've also put it on Earth to defend the rest of the galaxy with very little real help. Like that Colonel said yesterday, the Asgard have given the human race information they needed to advance well ahead of its time, but it's all just hints and clues so that the human race can earn the technology. Now I agree with that, but if you're going to be put in a position to defend the galaxy from a deadly alien menace, you might want a little more than hints. Ultimately, all of this advancement hasn't helped the human tactical position in the slightest. You're still using the same weapons now that you were when this base first encountered Ra.

"Honestly, I think the Nox had the right idea. They stopped using the gate and told the Asgard and Alterans what to do with themselves." He smiled, "And the Alterans actually did it. They actually ascended to another plain of existence, leaving behind their physical forms. They say that Alterans are the ancestors of the humans but don't believe it. You're no more Alteran than I am human." The Doctor picked up another doughnut and said, "Have you had one of these Boston Creme's? They are really good!"

In the security room, both generals were listening with Sam Carter, Cameron Mitchell and Vala, to the Doctor's conversation with Rose.

"Doesn't very nice things to say about our allies, does he?" said Mitchell.

O'Neill said, "He likes the doughnuts. I'll have to go back to Krispy Kreme's and tell them they get the interstellar seal of approval."

"Well, if you think about it, he's right," said Vala. "The Asgard have put the whole fate of the galaxy on Earth's shoulders, the Ancients basically cut and ran and told the whole universe that they were too good to clean up the mess they made, and the Nox have turned hermit. Typical behavior of the superior race, that! The adults make the mess and leave the children to clean it up."

The conversation on the monitor resumed with Rose saying, "So if you didn't mean to bring us here, do you think the TARDIS malfunctioned then?"

"I think the TARDIS brought us here for a reason. There is something that she thinks I need to do here. What it is, I don't know. We'll probably find out soon enough, though."

"Doctor, after all I've learned, I can't help but wonder...is the TARDIS alive?"

The Doctor turned to Rose and said, "I think you know the answer to that."

"I guess what I mean is, what is the TARDIS? You say they aren't built, they're grown."

The Doctor looked directly into one of the cameras and said, "Rose, that discussion should wait until we don't have an audience. All it will be is a discussion of a technology they can't understand and will be racking their brains to figure out." The Doctor, continuing to look at the camera as he grinned broadly and said, "Not even the Asgard could come close to the TARDIS' technology." He turned back to Rose. "Not that humans are unintelligent, mind you. I think your kind are all absolutely brilliant. I love humans. It's just that the basics of this science are so far ahead of their most advanced science, they would end up doing a lot damage trying to figure it out."

"Later then?"

"Later."

The Doctor stood and began to pace. The watchers in the security room looked from one to another. Vala was about to say something when the Doctor spoke again.

"We're done talking. You can come do your interrogation now. Do me a favor. Bring my ID wallet with you. I haven't checked my messages in awhile. I don't suppose you'd bring my sonic screwdriver, too? Probably not, but you can't blame me for trying."

O'Neill said, "Thoughts, anyone?"

Sam said, "This guy, knows an awful lot about us, he's not hiding it, and I just have this feeling that he isn't a threat to us."

"Explain that feeling," said Landry.

Sam's eyebrows knitted together in consternation. She seemed uneasy as she said, "When I look at him, I feel like I'm safer than I have ever been in my life. At the same time, I can't help but feel that I am looking at the most dangerous man I've ever met. I feel like he would never hurt us, and God help the person who would."

Vala said, "Okay, guys, don't be angry with me. I know, I should have told you sooner, but I didn't know for sure. This is my first time seeing the guy."

Landry said, "Spit it out."

"I know this guy. I have met this guy before. At least I think I have."

"You know this man?"

"It's the strangest thing. We only ever spoke to each other once. I still had the Goa'uld inside of me. Qetesh had acquired information on some alien race that nobody had ever heard of. She, I mean, I...well, when I was a Goa'uld, tried to go looking for them. They were called Sontarans. The plan was to try and get them to back Qetesh in an attempt to get the respect of the other system lords. In return, Qetesh would help the Sontarans destroy their enemies. Nobody ever knew what happened, but my Jaffa were gone and so were the Sontarans and the Doctor was standing right in front of me and told me that the Sontarans were even more evil than Goa'uld and if I ever tried to contact them again, he would make sure I regretted it. He looked like that." She gestured to the monitor. "What I personally remember as Vala was Qetesh was fully armed and had a personal field and the Doctor had no weapons of any kind and Qetesh was too terrified of him to defend herself. She was petrified."

Sam cringed. "Rose did say the Doctor could walk out whenever he wanted and we couldn't do a thing about it."

Landry smiled and said, "Well, I guess we've put it off long enough. Time to face the Goa'uld's worse nightmare."


	2. A Cry For Help

Daniel Jackson entered the room carrying an overlarge file. General O'Neill came in behind him followed by Sam Carter. The Doctor noted a container labeled "Belongings: Doctor and Tyler, Rose." O'Neill was holding the sonic screwdriver in addition to file folder of his own, considerably smaller than Daniel's file. All three of them sat in chairs at the table with the tea and doughnuts across from the Doctor and Rose.

"I think some introductions are in order," said O'Neill. "I am General Jack O'Neill, whom I think you've heard of. I think you have also heard of Doctor Daniel Jackson. I am aware that you haven't learned her name yet so let me introduce you properly. This is Colonel Samantha Carter."

The Doctor said, "Pleased to meet all of you."

O'Neill nodded cordially. Observing the Doctor directly, the alien didn't appear to be taking any of this seriously. From what O'Neill had seen, this Doctor acted like a little kid. He talked about absolutely everything he observed and made it a point to observe everything. Now seeing him face-to-face, the Doctor's expressions were cartoonishly overexaggerated.

"Before we decide anything, we need to go over some things." O'Neill laid his file before him and opened it. "I don't like beating around the bush. I'm a straight-forward guy, not the brightest fellow to know. So down to it. Your medical examination is the first thing I want to talk about."

"Oh, down to the meat of it. Who am I, really? Well, I'm ready."

"What species are you?"

"Species?"

"You have two hearts."

"Gallifreyan."

Daniel was absolutely fascinated. This Doctor, by the accounts he had read, was truly ancient, and if Doctor Lam's report held any water, the Doctor wasn't being kept alive by any parasite, wasn't being constantly cloned, and wasn't ascendant. Daniel's file revealed the Doctor as a mystery, regarded as an enemy by some, but as a hero by most. There were folk legends about him, government files praising him, and it seems was not unknown in the United States. He spent a great deal of time on Earth.

Daniel said, "So, I guess your planet is called Gallifrey."

"Yeah, that's a good guess," said the Doctor.

O'Neill said, "Where exactly would that be?"

"Oh, a long way from here. It was in the Perseus A galaxy in the constellation Kasterborous."

O'Neill and Daniel looked at Sam, who looked as though she had just been punched.

She said, "The Perseus A galaxy is approximately 250 million light years from here."

Sam had been irritated by some of the Doctor's incendiary observations the previous day. In retrospect, they were true, but one could not deny that nearly all of the technological advancement achieved in the past ten years had been thanks to information given by the Asgard. Then again, this information was not exactly given. The Asgard insisted upon overseeing the operations of ships built using this information. Also, it was entirely up to humans to understand these technologies, with little to no aid. The Doctor had correctly pointed out that this wasn't so much the same effect as giving a child a match as it was of giving a child a flamethrower. The Asgard had let humanity take a tremendous risk and then didn't tell them.

Sam wondered if the Doctor would have introduced this technology differently, but quickly realized that he wouldn't have done it at all. If it had been up to the Doctor, humanity would have no help from the Asgard, and the Asgard would be dealing with the threat personally. She looked into his eyes and knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Doctor's opinion was to let children grow at their own pace and let grownups deal with grownup problems. Human ego awakened in the back of Sam's mind and protested that SG1 at the very least had proven themselves equal to incredible challenges, but reason took over and told her that it was always unwise to progress too quickly.

O'Neill said, "What do you mean, 'was'?"

The Doctor suddenly looked uncomfortable. He took a sharp breath and said, "Gallifrey was destroyed in a war. As far as I know there were no survivors. We weren't the type to leave our home world."

"Why did you leave?" asked Daniel.

"I was something of a rebel. I never saw eye to eye with my elders. They used to travel all over the place: the End of the Universe, the Dawn of Time, the Medusa Belt. In the end, they became stagnant. They were content to watch the universe fly by and never participate. I wanted to see it. So I left."

"And you came here," said Sam.

"I travel. I wander. I spend more time on Earth. This planet is nothing like Gallifrey. Funny thing. I come here because it feels like home."

"How long ago did civilization develop on Gallifrey?" Sam tried to sound professional but her voice was a bit raspy.

"Over a billion years ago."

Daniel's eyes went wide. "Which would make your civilization the oldest in known history."

The Doctor would answer no more questions about Gallifrey, which was just as well. They had only asked what happened out of curiosity. O'Neill finished with his questions and told Daniel to present his information. Daniel opened the large file and began to sift through it.

"Okay, well. Ahh, I have found a ream of information on you but nothing that really tells me about you. In London, you apparently have a fan club called London Investigation N' Detective Agency--"

Rose said, "LINDA!" and began giggling. "They know about LINDA!"

"--LINDA for short, that is dedicated to learning more about you and exploring how you came to be important in their lives. Apparently, in 1879, a man calling himself the Doctor and an improperly clothed woman named Rose Tyler, rescued Queen Victoria from a werewolf. They were both knighted for their deeds and immediately banished for the crime of "inappropriate knowledge of the stars," which is a euphemistic way of saying witchcraft."

"Oh, come on!" said Rose. "She is a werewolf! It bit her right across the wrist. We saw it! It's the only reason she had her little hissy-fit."

The Doctor said, "You mean 'howly'-fit."

Rose began laughing uncontrollably.

Daniel waited patiently for her to recompose herself. "Your Police Public Call Box appears in various drawings and tablets over the past five thousand years. Pompeii?"

"Haven't been there yet," said the Doctor. "I wonder what I do there? The eruption's a fixed point in time so I can't stop it." The Doctor cringed. "What if I have to cause it? That would be upsetting."

"I don't know. All I have is a record of someone called the Doctor and an unnamed woman being charged with heresy. The report describes them as Welsh. Whatever that's about. Apparently you are very popular in the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart swears that he has witnessed you literally saving the Earth on numerous occasions, has learned to trust your judgment, and calls you a dear friend." He closed the file and said, "I can go on for hours. I Googled, 'Doctor blue box' and had to go through five pages before I found a link that didn't relate to you. There are even pictures.

"I want to talk about some of your nicknames. You are called the Lonely God, the Ageless Wanderer, the Destroyer of Worlds--you don't look like you could destroy worlds."

"Looks can be deceiving. Yes, I have earned all of those nicknames. The Lonely God, who always travels with a human companion...the Ageless Wanderer, whose face always changes and never dies...the Destroyer of Worlds, before whom armies flee. I don't kill if I can avoid it, and I protect life. When faced with some the deadliest aliens imaginable, I'm sure you'll understand that I do what needs to be done to protect helpless lives."

O'Neill clasped his hands with a snap and said, "Well, when meeting a man who's lost his home, I think we'd be pretty inhospitable hosts if we let this go on any longer." O'Neill handed the sonic screwdriver to the Doctor.

Sam produced the Doctor's ID wallet and handed it to him, giving the box to Rose.

"I don't understand," said Daniel. "Why do you carry around a blank piece of paper?"

The Doctor opened the case and turned it around. "Because of this. The paper is psychic. I can show you identification or anything I need you to see. I can also receive messages on it. Such as this one."

Daniel blinked. "I'd swear that wasn't there a second ago. It looks like it's written in Egyptian demotic."

"It says, 'Please help'."

Sam looked at the paper and said, "That's a gate address beneath it. Do you know where it goes?"

"I've never worked a Stargate before. If you gave me galactic coordinates, I could probably tell you."

The gate control room looked like the inside of a spaceship. There were monitors and servers on every inch of wall. One computer monitor said "Ori tactical analysis", but everyone was more interested in the gate: an enormous, exotically beautiful ring in a massive room viewed from a window in the control room. The Doctor identified it as an old nuclear missile silo.

The Doctor was saying, "So, General, the Goa'uld are pretty well defunct now and you're fighting against the Ori, now?"

"Right. We know there are still a few out there. Seriously, though, why would they be calling us?"

"It wasn't calling you, it was calling both of us. This Goa'uld is sending out some really strong telepathic signals. It's calling us like a beacon. I think the TARDIS responded to it. Tell me what you've observed about the Ori."

The rest of SG1 appeared in the control room. They gave passing glances at each other as Daniel turned to the Doctor.

"Religious fanatics. Everyone is to be either converted or killed. Anyone who doesn't believe in their Book of Origin is usually murdered. They claim to be the true Ancients and to be showing us all the path to Ascendance."

"Well, the Goa'uld certainly wouldn't fit in their grand scheme. I wonder if this Goa'uld is dealing with them."

The Doctor turned to the last two members of SG1 he hadn't met. "I'm the Doctor and this Rose."

Vala said, "Hello. I think we've met before."

There was something different about the Doctor, but Vala couldn't quite place it. It certainly looked like the same man she had met so many years before, but...it was strange: it seemed to be him, but when Vala got up close, he looked completely different. She was sure it would come to her. One thing that seemed to be different, he seemed much more attractive than she remembered.

The Doctor said, "We have, Vala Mal Doran, but fortunately, it looks like you've left your superego behind."

Vala took that to mean Qetesh.

Mitchell stepped toward the Doctor. "Colonel Cameron Mitchell. I took over when General O'Neill got his stars."

The Doctor shook Mitchell's hand and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you look like that fellow from Farscape?"

"I hear that all the time."

Cameron felt a charisma from the Doctor that he had never felt from anyone before. He realized that it didn't matter what the Doctor said, he just loved hearing him talk. Having encountered aliens before that had had that intoxicating effect, he was suddenly on alert, but then he realized that the Doctor wasn't doing something that those other aliens had...he wasn't hiding the fact that he was an alien.

The gate address was entered into the main system. A map in the center of the control room plotted the gate symbols and showed a point between the positions of the constellations represented. The number P7K-141 flashed across the screen. The Doctor chuckled and observed the image closely. He put a finger on it and began tracing across the stars back to Earth.

"Oh, the planet Bubastis, home of Bastet."

Daniel said, "Bastet was generally depicted as female with a feline head. She was a protector goddess of Lower Egypt."

Mitchell said, "Never heard of her."

"You wouldn't have," said the Doctor. "She's one of the oldest of Goa'uld. She was the most vicious of the rulers. Three thousand years ago, she began defending her rule against a series of rebellions. There was one every fifteen years on average for the next 500 years. Not one of them succeeded. Bastet always put them down, but it did make her think. After the last rebellion, she called the rebel leader before him. He expected her to pass judgment on him and execute him as she had always done to rebels. She didn't. She asked him what he so desired that her subjects were so willing to tear the world apart over it.

"He told her, shouting in defiance expecting her to laugh him down. They didn't want to be treated as slaves anymore. The people were starving. She took so much of the harvest there was too little left for the people. They wanted doctors and medicine; schools and education. She told him that all of those things would be done and ordered his release. The time was she would have killed hundreds of people to make examples for their defiance."

"But not this time?" asked Sam.

"She did everything she promised. A grand experiment had begun. There was a provision. The people would have to be more productive in order to make up for the loss of the harvest tariffs. After four years, Bastet found that the increase was three times what she requested. She started giving them more freedoms. The tariffs were going to Ra. When he died, she forgot the harvest tariff. Now, thousands of years later. She rules on the belief that a happy population is a productive one. Her people love her and won't hear a negative word about her."

"Well," said Vala. "She had an incentive, didn't she? Her economy was being ripped apart."

"It was. I met her once before. She was a bit eccentric. Her view on the Goa'uld was disdainful and haughty. Her opinion was reminiscent of the Tok'ra, but I couldn't help but notice that her people still addressed as a goddess and she lived in horrific decadence." He looked pointedly at Vala. "Just FYI, you look much better without Qetesh sticking out of your neck."

"Oh, well," Vala stammered, "she didn't really suit me anyway." She laughed uneasily. "By the way, if Rose is your travel companion, how come she wasn't with you when I met you?"

"Rose and I hadn't met."

"But Rose said she had been with you the last time you regenerated. She said so during the interview with Doctor Lam"

"You're still telepathic because of your bond with Qetesh. I didn't look like this when you and I met. You're seeing me the way a psychic sees my kind."

Vala took a closer look and curious expression crossed her face. "Now that you mention it, you look a bit younger. You wore a scarf and a heavy coat right? Sarah Jane Smith!" Vala clapped. "That's the name of the girl you were traveling with! And there was someone named Harry! I'm right, aren't I?"

"Harry Sullivan, quite right."

Vala turned to General O'Neill and asked, "General, will you be staying to see if the Doctor's gate address turns up anything interesting?"

O'Neill looked at his watch, tapped it and said, "Well, I only came down here because I had to see what the fuss was about, but now I think I may stay for the party. Who's bringing the nachos?"

The MALP had finally entered the gate room. The gate technician, Walter, entered the gate alignment. He sounded off each chevron as they recorded the appropriate symbols. Only Rose showed any kind of surprise as the Stargate opened.

Sam spoke softly to Rose. "What you're seeing is the event horizon of a wormhole. It's easy to say it's a shortcut through space but that isn't really accurate. It actually creates a curve in space-time. If the distance between point A and point B is straight line, then a curvature in space-time could turn lightyears into mere feet. The Doctor probably knows a thing about wormholes that our science hasn't thought of."

As the MALP entered the vortex, Landry said, "Once we have an all clear, SG1 will go through the gate with Doctor and assess the situation. Team leader will report back in one hour. Civilian personnel will remain on the base."

Rose said, "Oi! That's not fair! What's the worse that's out there? A dodgy snake lady? I've faced Cybermen and Daleks and the Doctor said the Goa'uld weren't near as bad as them." Rose crossed her arms. "I've stood under a black hole, saved a load of people from a werewolf, Prime Minister of England makes me bloody ambassador of Earth on Christmas Day and now there's a wormhole in front of me and I don't get to go through?"

The Doctor said, "And you did a lovely job being ambassador to the Sycorax while I was regenerating, but I guarantee you the military is not going to want the responsibility of taking a civilian on a mission."

Sam said, "I'll make you a deal. You stay here and wait for us and I promise, I'll take you on a trip to one of our beta sites when everything's wrapped up."

The Doctor said, "I'm sorry Rose, but that's the best they can offer, I'm afraid."

Rose folded her arms tighter and said, "I'll hold you to that."

A signal finally reached the base. The MALP was transmitting. The images on the screen were of tents with various people scurrying about. Several people were watching the gate intently while others eyed the MALP curiously, but nobody made a move towards it.

"Looks like a flea market," said O'Neill.

"It's definitely some kind of market," said Daniel.

"I'm in the market," Vala said, turning to Daniel, an eager look on her face.

"No deposit; no return."

Vala's jaw dropped and anyone who was nearby had trouble stifling their laughter.

"How rude," said Vala. She looped an arm around Daniel's arm. "Fortunately, I know your rejection is merely your inner child crying out for help."

Daniel didn't look away from the screen. "No, my inner child is crying out in terror."

The Doctor and SG1 stood in the gate room. They were all lightly equipped, though the Doctor wasn't very enthusiastic about the P-90's they were carrying, nor did he particularly care for Teal'c's staff weapon. There was little he could do about it. Was it any wonder that they ran into such trouble considering that they always traveled so heavily armed? He stepped a bit closer to the gate and examined the aperture. Tiny tendrils of the Vortex of Time swirled, imperceptible to the human eye, in and out of the event horizon. He saw every road this gate could take. SG1 hadn't a clue of its true potential. Their human eyes could only see a glowing vortex.

Mitchell stepped up beside the Doctor. Measuring the expression on the Doctor's face, Mitchell chuckled. "So tell me, do you ever just sit back and appreciate something? Most people see this the first time and their faces light up like a kid on Christmas. Not you. You look like the boogeyman's about to jump out."

The Doctor smiled in spite of himself. "All the time. The trouble is that I'm too clever for my own good and I get to thinking about all the nasty things associated with whatever I'm looking at."

"Well, Rose didn't see that. She saw the same thing everything else does."

"No, she sees an adventure. She's here for the same reason I am."

"What's that?"

"To see what there is to see. No greater motivation than that. Once you realize your world is a postage stamp, you don't want to go back. I think we've lingered long enough."

The Doctor was the first to step through the gate.


	3. The Quantum and the Goddess

Sneaker shod feet danced upon the sands of the planet Bubastus, leaving the Stargate with gusto. Several people laughed and waved as the man in the brown coat and blue suit danced his jig out of the event horizon. He stopped just short of skipping. He shared a laugh with the cheerful crowd. When SG1 stepped through, his face became instantly, ridiculously over-exaggeratedly, stern, making the crowd laugh even harder. The contrast between the Doctor and SG1 was comically evident and the Doctor was enjoying every moment.

When Sam stepped beside the Doctor and looked at him, his expression was quickly composed and placid, but not in time for his antics to escape Sam's notice.

"What are you doing?" she asked, a trace of laughter in her voice.

"Oh, well--that is--I was just..." he trailed off lamely.

Sam smiled and shook her head as she walked off.

Mitchell patted the Doctor on the back. "Nice jig."

Vala said, "Colonel Mitchell, why don't you ever dance when you step out of the gate?"

"I have two left feet."

They continued through the crowd, some of whom clapped. Indeed, a marketplace had been erected around the Stargate. The way the roads were set up, there was no doubt that many of the goods here were being brought directly from the gate. Also, the ethnic mix of alien-humans suggested an interplanetary trade. There were Jaffa carrying zatnikitals stationed here and there, but their presence was minimal, and though they made a point of noting SG1's presence, they made no move against them.

The Doctor tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Are you hungry?"

Sam gave the Doctor a quizzical look. "Well, I didn't get much of a lunch. Why?"

"There's a fassa stand over here. You'll love it."

"Doctor, we have no money."

"They barter precious metals. I've got plenty." He reached into his pocket and produced a handful of ancient Roman gold and silver coins.

"Where did you hide them?"

"My pockets!"

"How?"

"Well, a mysterious alien has to have some secrets, doesn't he?"

Sam shook her head and laughed. Of course, Cameron could eat endlessly and his curiosity had been roused by the Doctor's assurance that the food was good. Vala, always interested in a new experience, tagged along. Daniel would sample some and so would Teal'c. Two gold pieces paid for the meal. It consisted of a ground meat marinated in a sweet sauce, wrapped in a shell like a pita or tortilla, and baked with cheese, onion, some kind of sprout and a bean sauce on top. They were dipped in some kind of cream. The meal seemed a hybrid of Greek and Mexican styles.

As the Doctor had said, the meal was absolutely delicious. Indeed, the food cart was doing a roaring trade. Mats were on a ground nearby where some people sat and ate. The mats were canvas with a hard cushioning underneath. They were clearly provided, either by the owner of the food cart or the organizer of the market.

"So, Doctor," said Sam, "Were did you get a fistful of Ancient Roman coins?"

"I have an account at an Ancient Roman bank,' the Doctor said.

"You had an account at a Tabernce Argentarice?" asked Daniel.

The Doctor looked at him, quizzified. "I beg your pardon?"

"That's what Ancient Roman banks were called."

"All of the Romans I ever met just call it a bank...or a Mensce Numularice."

"I always thought that the banks didn't handle money directly."

"Well, what do you think they did? It was a bank! They were money changers and counters. They gave out loans on collateral, wrote promissory notes and issued checks."

Sam considered the Doctor patiently. She had so many questions for this man, this being, from a distant universe with such distant knowledge. This Doctor traveled upon the tides of time as though they were road, to walk along as any other road. Sam wanted to ask him about how time flowed; how the energy was harnessed.

She finally composed herself and said, "Doctor, since it is obvious that you travel through time, I was wondering if you could explain the mechanics of dimensional space, as your kind would perceive them."

The Doctor held his wooden eating utensil--for it was neither fork or spoon--and stared thoughtfully into the distance. "Mechanics? Like square pegs and round holes, you mean?"

"Yes."

"Dimensional space is the dimensions we perceive: depth, width and mass. I assume you mean dimensions of time-space." The Doctor asked, "What do you suppose time is? You're a smart lady, Sam. You've made your name in the quantum wave theory department."

"Well, I suppose I've always taken the Einstein view that time is motion, space and gravity. They are directly interrelated and this would mean that the only way to travel back in time would be to reverse the mechanics of physics. So how do you do it?"

The Doctor waved his hand, dismissing the question. "So, your opinion is that time is a mechanical function of space."

"Yes, motion never ceases and the flow of time must be directly related to mechanical physics."

"So how do you make the assumption that time is a river? I'll tell you how. You assume that motion is a flow, and like a river, time must also flow. Where does that flow stem; at the beginning, as it were?" The Doctor gazed piercingly into Sam's eyes. "Where does that leave alternate realities? Are they simply tributaries of one main universe? That implies that the multiverse is really a universe. Very limited in your scope of understanding you assume the directions forward and backward, never realizing that time may not even exist at all? What about that concept? Did that one occur to you? Of course not! I travel through time. You have had occasion to do so, so therefore, time must exist. So, how have you traveled through time?"

"Through an accident with the Stargate, we ended up in 1969."

"And this occurred traveling through a wormhole, which should tell you something. You have already explained the curvature theory of the wormhole to Rose, neglecting to mention, I might point out, that it is only a theory of how wormholes work. At this point, you are only able to observe. It was theorized that a wormhole could result in time travel and your observation could certainly be evidence for that, but do you really think that is the case now, or do you think the event occurred during a manipulation of the wormhole's progression through dimensional space?"

"I feel that it was a manipulation of the wormhole's normal function."

"What are your reasons?"

Mitchell stood and said, "Hey, guys. Can you continue this discussion while we're doing our recon?"

The six travelers observed the tents and indeed, the Doctor and Sam continued their discussion. All that the Doctor revealed to Sam was that time was better described as a field rather than a river, but he told her little else. At the center of the market, there were two businesses across from each other that the Doctor had taken an interest in. None of SG1 could imagine why. One was a jewelry merchant and the other dealt in woman's clothing. Indeed, the Doctor moved back and forth between them quite frequently. Both merchants became quite alarmed but neither of them said anything.

Finally, the Doctor approached SG1. "What do you think about these two vendors?"

Daniel shook his head, "Their merchandise is targeted to women?"

Mitchell said, "They're directly across from each other?"

The Doctor said, "You see. This is why I like having Rose around. Even if she doesn't realize it, she usually picks up on oddities. She usually knows when something isn't right."

Teal'c said, "Their tents have no customers at all and yet everyone here appears to wear apparel comparable to these vendor's selections."

"Exactly. They have prime locations and the vendors around them are doing a roaring trade, but they aren't being visited by a single customer. Even if they aren't that popular, they're going to at least have a few looky-loos. What's wrong with this picture?"

But the Doctor could not further investigate. Two Jaffa approached, their weapons ready, but held at ease. All of SG1 stood with hands on the grips of their P-90s.

"Our queen wishes to speak with you," said one, a large man shaved bald, with a symbol tattooed to his forehead reminiscent of a claw.

"'Our queen'" said Daniel: "not 'our goddess'."

The Jaffa ignored Daniel. They also made no move to relieve them of their weapons. They simply turned and walked, making certain that the six travelers were following. The Doctor looked entirely unconcerned and struck up the time and space conversation with Sam again. If the Jaffa noticed the discussion, the made no sign of it, looking resolutely forward. The Doctor's talkativeness saved the Jaffa the trouble of having to look back to make sure SG1 was still there.

"So, how do you think the universe began?" the Doctor asked.

Sam said, "Well, there is the main theory of the Big Bang, a massive explosion that spewed material across the cosmos. It wasn't actually an explosion, but a singularity spewing matter."

"I don't want a theory, I want to hear what you think. How do you think the universe began?"

Sam thought for a moment and said, "Well, I don't honestly know."

"Not know; think. If you had to guess--if your chosen higher order did a game show and you were a contestant and you had to come up with a concise answer for how the universe was created, what would you say? Would you go with the scientific consensus, and risk them being wrong, or would you prefer your gut instinct based upon what you know about physics and go for broke? What would that gut instinct be?"

"Well...I suppose I would disagree with the consensus. I would suppose...you know, I don't know what I would suppose. I would need time to think."

"Take your time. It's a half-hour walk to the palace and we'll have plenty of time later, too."

One could see the metaphorical gears turning. Nobody had ever asked Sam anything like that before. Certainly, she had been asked to use her imagination before on lesser questions. She had posited theories about relativity, particle physics, warp theory, and quantum theory, but she had never been asked to develop her own theory regarding a fundamental principle of science. She had always looked at the research and evidence that others had produced and drew conclusions based upon the research and findings of others. "Well," she said, "it couldn't have been a Big Bang, at least not just one. If it was then there had to be more than one at opposing points within the universe."

"Let me illustrate a pattern for you. How are babies made? Now I don't want the birds, bees, and stork lecture. I want the biology. I want to know what happens on a cellular level."

"Well, an embryo, which is a single cell, is fertilized by another single cell called a sperm. The cell begins to self replicate, and once it has enough material, it divides into two cells. Those two cells divide into four and so on and so forth through a process called mitosis."

"And describing the material of a single cell, would you say that there is an entire world in that cell?"

"I would. Yes."

"Now tell me how a star system forms. Tell me how the planets are born."

"Gases and debris from various sources condense into a star called a proto-star. As gravitational forces assert themselves, these gases and debris begin to rotate on a central axis at high velocity, accelerating to their maximum potential. During this process, some gases and debris are expelled and fall into orbit around the larger central mass." Sam suddenly smiled. "I know what you're getting at. You're saying that the universe replicates in the same way. Stars grow in nebulae and other gaseous material and just like cells, when there is too much material to be contained, one galaxy becomes two."

"Snap! Apply that to an even larger level. There is a huge multiverse: countless Earths, countless Daniel Jacksons, countless Teal'cs, countless Samantha Carters, a countless number of these two tossers leading us to Bastet and quantum wave theory itself posits that these are universes that have divided from this one, or perhaps our universe has divided from one of these."

"So we establish that our universe may have begun by dividing from another older universe, but this suggests that there would be universes so radically different from our own that Earth would not even exist but entirely different worlds with entirely different occupants: no Goa'uld or Tok'ra or Jaffa or humans. There wouldn't be any Ori or Wraith or Furlings. It would be a completely different universe occupied by completely different lifeforms."

"Naturally."

"So if we can see before the beginning of this universe, then how did the other universes begin? How did the oldest universe begin?"

"First of all, not before. Nothing comes before any universe, only beyond. Second of all, since we have established that we can't really know the beginning of this universe then how do we know there was a beginning at all? How can we say that existence isn't eternal and as one universe dies, another isn't born? You see, not only do we see that this universe was born in a different way than we envisioned, but now we have to expand our science to beyond the realms of the existence we know to find how things really started."

"Do you have a theory?"

"I do. I think existence is a self-perpetuating paradox. It's like a mobius strip: once you reach the point where the tape is fastening the paper, you just keep going. Everything repeats itself. Life. Time. Perhaps it will be different people and different events but the same things will always be said. The same hatred will always pervade. The same intolerance will always rule. The same love will always be made. The same tears will always be shed. That's how it was in the past. That's how it is now. That's how it will be in the future. I can't imagine it's any different in another universe."

Sam shook her head. "I don't usually ponder the meaning of life."

"Ah, sure you do. More often than you probably realize. Every time you ask 'why', for whatever reason, the underlying question of existence is always there. 'Why did my car have to break down now?', a question that implies that there must have been a cosmic reason."

"So what does this have to do with time travel?"

The Doctor smiled slyly. "It's the principle nature of the universe. To understand time, you have to understand the universe. Can you do it, I wonder? When I tell you that time travel is all wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey, will you understand the genuine reality underneath the childish sounding words?" The Doctor gestured to the palace, which was drawing closer. "Allons-y!"

The conversation concluded thus, leaving Sam to ponder that enigmatic finale. Entering the palace, the sight that greeted her drove any thoughts of time travel from her mind. Vala made a loud exclamation of wonder while Mitchell whistled a single descending note. Teal'c's eyes widened in curiousity. The entry chamber walls were covered with paintings of various scenes and star charts...mostly star charts. There were numerous pedestals, neatly arranged, but crammed so tightly there was barely a path to walk. On these pedestals were globes of countless worlds. Sam could see that ones she was close enough to observe were all hand painted in exquisite detail.

Vala said, "I suspect even the star charts are hand painted." In an undertone so that only SG1 could hear, "I'm no psychiatrist, but I think we've got an OCD here."

Daniel said, "The attention to detail on these is phenomenal. Is every room like this?"

The smaller Jaffa sighed and said, "Yes. She has done this for several hours a day for as long as I can recall."

"Watch your step, people," said Mitchell. "This whole building is a minefield of potential bruised ego."

The Doctor said, "She probably wouldn't care. This palace was like this when I first came. She definitely has warehouses full of this stuff, if she even keeps what she doesn't have room for anymore."

Nevertheless, they all walked single file down the single person wide aisle made for people pass through. Every member of SG1 wondered about security. Surely, if the palace was threatened, the Jaffa couldn't be expected to meet the threat single file.

As if reading their minds, the larger Jaffa said, "Guard quarters are on either side of the entrance. We are not encumbered by Her Highness' hobby."

When they reached what should have been the throne room, they encountered, not the throne, but a work table with a small, oriental woman leaning intently over it. She was not dressed very regally. She wore clothing more akin to a worker. Everyone saw why. She was splattered with paint. Surely she would not wear her finest clothing when so engaged in such a messy project. The six travelers moved closer and saw a small, pretty, nondescript woman leaning over a globe of what appeared to be a very accurate representation of the Earth. Wear she could have gotten the needed information was anybody's guess. If the Jaffa were embarrassed by the mundane manner in which their queen was presenting herself, they made no sign of it.

Then again, gods and goddesses in ancient tales would often appear in humble forms to put mortals at ease. Mitchell, as impatient as ever stood by the desk with his arms crossed, as if he had something better to do--in truth, he didn't. Daniel and Vala absorbed this throne room, also a veritable museum of paintings of various scenes, but mostly globes, maps and star charts.

Bastet spoke, her voice as distorted as any Goa'uld. Her eyes never left her work. "I was born a mere thousand years after Ra. Thus, I am among the oldest. It was six thousand years ago, we faced death and sought an answer. I took the body I now possess. For a very long time, I merely thought this a matter of survival. She was weak and I was strong. For the first few hundred years, she fought with me. Always did she despise everything I was. There was one exception. When I brought my empire here, she saw her own world from space and then saw this one and she was entranced."

Sam laughed in wonder. "That's why you paint these globes and these maps: so she will always have these worlds to look upon. They are absolutely gorgeous."

"Thank you. In a way, she is the painter. We made peace with each other long ago, and she forgave me my trespass. This is how we spend our time when we are alone with each other. Our minds are one now. I am not entirely Goa'uld. She is not entirely human. We are a unified being."

"So the Tok'ra did develop elsewhere," said Teal'c.

"No. When my people convinced me that peace was not a police state of fear, I conducted myself similarly with my fellows. My new philosophy was not well liked, so I did not associate with them at all. I merely continued to pay my dues, but isolated my people from the others. The other lords were content so long as I did not forget what was demanded of me: food for the troops. This desert you find yourselves in is small. This world is lush and blue, like the world of the Tau'ri. The Tok'ra chose to change them all. My people would not have survived such a conflict, so I did not risk them. You can say that I was greedy for life and turned a blind eye to the suffering of others. I will not contest it."

"No," said Daniel, "that isn't fair. A ruler has a right to decide not to sacrifice her people for her own morals."

"And what if an evil finds its way into the home of such a ruler? So long as the evil does not threaten her people, or pretends not to threaten, should she turn a blind eye until that evil decides to change its mind? Or should I act preemptively?"

"What do you mean?" asked Mitchell. "What evil? Why did you ask for our help?"

Bastet looked up at Mitchell and said, "I fear my people are in grave danger from a menace Ra did not even imagine."

"What?" Mitchell was speaking with a consoling voice. He crouched in a non-aggressive stance automatically. "What evil is here?"

"I dare not speak it!" The goddess distortion suddenly disappeared. Her voice was normal. "They listen! Always, they listen! Now they will come and end my life and I pray that you stop them before they can do the same to my people!"

The Doctor moved brashly forward. The Jaffa pointed their staff weapons offensively, but the Doctor ignored them. "Then come with us. If you are in such grave danger, do not leave our sight."

Bastet looked upon him with wonder. Her eyes sparkled. "Your face is different but I know your manner!" Her wonder turned to joy. "Doctor! I knew you would come!" She looked at the Jaffa and said, "Lower your weapons! This is the Ageless Wanderer!" She looked back at the Doctor and looked as though she might cry. "The last of the Time Lords has come to save us from his mortal foes!"

Vala said, "Time Lord? You're a Time Lord?"

The Doctor turned abruptly, looking as though he had been caught in a bright light. "Yeah! Did I forget to mention that bit?"

Teal'c was the only member of SG1 who didn't seem puzzled by that statement. "There are legends among the Jaffa of one who never dies. He changes his face over time and he comes when our need is greatest. He comes from the oldest races and is as ancient as the gods. I believed it a myth."

"Not a myth. Old, yes. Sometimes I think too old." The Doctor turned back to Bastet. "There is a clothing vendor and a jewelry vendor who do no business in the marketplace. Will I find something interesting if I rearrange their merchandise?"

Bastet nodded jerkily. "I believe you will."

Mitchell said, "Hang on a second. We still don't know what this evil is."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows as he turned his attention to Mitchell. "Colonel, this woman is risking her life for her people, something an ordinary Goa'uld would never do. The next logical step is to investigate her claim to determine exactly what has happened here."

"That's just it. I don't see any evidence that anything has happened here. People are singing and dancing in the streets. Do you see any evidence that anything is wrong here?"

"Why would a peaceful woman ask us to help solve a problem if there was no problem to solve?"

"I'm not saying there's not a problem. I'm saying that I don't see it. If I can't see it, I can't justify to my superiors doing anything about it."

"Can we at least look for evidence?"

"No. We have no idea where to begin."

"The jeweler and the dressmaker."

"A lousy sales day is hardly justification for a full investigation unless you're the IRS."

"I can always look myself."

"No, you can't. We need more information."

"And since when do you order me?"

"May I remind that you are here at our discretion?"

"Bunk. You're the ones tagging along. She called me. The TARDIS brought me to you. I didn't need you for anything. I could have just set the TARDIS coordinates for here and passed you up altogether. You have the gate code from me leading you to a potential ally with a great deal of resources at her disposal. She may have sat idle for the Goa'uld but the Ori will come here and threaten her people. She will not sit idle for them. You have me, exclusively to thank for introducing you. You may not see a problem, but I do. The TARDIS sensed it, which is why it brought me to you. I sensed it when I got here. I sensed it when I passed those stores. I pointed it out. Teal'c sensed it too."

"What is your solution if I refuse?" Mitchell gave the Doctor a warning look.

Oh yes, this man was in his element and he was in charge of something.

The Doctor met his gaze just as ferociously. "Simple. I can make you, all of SG1 and all of SGC forget that gate code. I can make you forget this place. I can make forget me and Rose. I can delete all memory from you of all that has happened. But I can't make whatever is threatening this place forget. I cannot make them forget the return code that registered on this gate and once they are done with this planet they will come for you and you won't even remember that I told you so."

Mitchell didn't move, but he gulped.

Sam said, "Colonel, quit being a hard head. It won't hurt to check it out."

Mitchell broke the Doctor's gaze with effort. Mitchell didn't know what had just happened. The Doctor was mesmerizing. He turned to the rest of SG1 and said, "Right, I still want more information from her. Meanwhile, Vala, Teal'c, you go with the Doctor and check those vendors out."


	4. Clever Little Blobs

"Why didn't you tell us you were a Time Lord?" Vala was beside herself. When they got out of the palace and onto the path through the market, Vala launched a verbal barrage at the Doctor.

"What do you mean? I thought you knew I was a Time Lord at the very least. We met back when you tried to get in good with the Sontarans!"

"I didn't know you were a Time Lord. You're supposed to be myths!"

"Right, I get that a lot."

Teal'c watched the exchange with an amused expression. He too had heard the legends of the Time Lords and particularly of the Ageless Wanderer. To think that he was this peculiar man was mind-boggling. The Lonely God was an eccentric man in a suit who carried a screwdriver in his pocket. Teal'c very rarely laughed, even when amused, but the Doctor's comment to Vala, labeling her the inattentive snake-lady, coupled with her reaction to the comment very nearly incited his laughter. Vala went into a tirade, charging the Doctor with every accusation of wrongdoing she could imagine. Teal'c shook his head at the absurdity of the scene.

Vala pointed a stern finger at the Doctor. "And one more thing--"

"I sincerely doubt that! I heard that Qetesh got her loud mouth from you."

"And how do we catalog a 900 year-old man who travels in a wood box with a teenage human girl wherever he goes?"

"I don't know! How do we describe a woman who puts on a vocalizer to convince a planet full of people to give her a foot massage?"

Vala sputtered incoherently. After finding her voice, she said, "I don't know what you're talking about." She turned her head to indicate an end to the conversation.

"I didn't think you would."

Vala turned to retort, but Teal'c put a hand up.

"We are here," he said.

The Doctor, anxious to end the childish debate when to the tent with the clothing. The Doctor began to move displays, in spite of the proprietor's protests. Apparently, the Jaffa had advance warning from Bastet because the assisted Teal'c and Vala, who were trying to calm the merchant. The merchant's anxiety increased as the doctor cleared a six feet by four feet area of ground. The Doctor began to walk the perimeter of the cleared section and crouched down as if listening. He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it the ground. A high pitch whine came from it as waved it across the ground like a wand. He then held it to his ear to listen. He jumped to his feet as if bitten and ran to the jewelry merchant set up opposite the clothing vendor.

The Doctor ignored this vendor's protests as he removed a table and display from the back of the tent. Each tent protruded from a series of walls that went around the market. This wall had something quite interesting on it. Vala and Teal'c crouched beside the Doctor to examine the interesting piece of technology that he had found.

"Well, would you look at that," said Vala.

The Doctor smiled. "So, do either of you recognize this technology?"

"I do not," said Teal'c.

"It doesn't look Goa'uld," said Vala. "Do you recognize it?"

"I do, unfortunately. I only hope I'm wrong." The Doctor pointed his screwdriver at it.

There was an orb situated upon a metal plate of sorts. It had an antenna protruding straight from the center. Waiving his sonic screwdriver over it, the Doctor activated the device. A loud clang came from the clothing vendor's side of the street.

"Please," the jewelry vendor begged, "they will show no mercy."

"Who are they?" asked Teal'c.

The Doctor didn't wait for the answer. He sprinted over to the ramp that had appeared leading down into the ground. Vala and Teal'c managed to keep up with difficulty as the Doctor kept his screwdriver pointed out in front. The tunnel they found themselves in was structure unlike any Teal'c or Vala had ever seen. On each side, there was a ditch where, they all guessed, water could flow. Every ten feet down the tunnel, there was some time of control node. The walls were covered with spherical bumps, uniformly protruding in rows and columns. There was an intersecting tunnel every fifteen feet.

The Doctor stopped at the third intersection, apparently trying to decide which way he should go. He turned right and went several paces before entering a door on the left. The door slide open soundlessly. Teal'c and Vala followed him and were met by a most peculiar sight. The room was full of creatures connected to some kind of life support system. The creatures were a shade of grayish-green. They had an almost octopus-like appearance except for a single eye in the middle.

"Stay away from them," said the Doctor. "Even out of their transport units, they're still extremely dangerous."

"What are they?" asked Vala.

The Doctor wasn't paying attention. He was talking, mostly to himself. "But these are newly engineered. Where did they find the genetic material for so many? It wasn't from the people on the surface. They were happy, maybe hiding from a secret terror, but nobody was upset or in mourning. How many are there now?"

"Doctor, what are they?"

As Vala said it, a door opened at the back of the chamber. From it, emerged a creature as strange as the blobs on the tables. It appeared to be a machine, of conical shape with a domed head. Along its lower body were more of the spherical bumps that they had seen on the walls of the tunnels. From the middle of the body, a plunger protruded on one side, and a small weapon protruded from the other. From the dome came what must have been an eye stalk of some sort. On top of the dome were two lights.

The machine creature said, "Identify!" The voice was horrible and electronic. Each syllable was belted out in staccato fashion.

"Daleks!" the Doctor said automatically.

"Incorrect! We are Daleks; you are not! Identify!"

Teal'c raised his staff weapon and Vala aimed a P-90 at the Dalek.

"Don't shoot," said the Doctor. "You'll only make him mad."

"Identify, or you will be exterminated!"

"Oh," said the Doctor as if he had only just seen the Dalek. "You want us to tell you who we are!"

"Obey! Obey!"

The Doctor turned to Vala and said, "He wants to know who we are." He turned back to the Dalek and said, "I'll tell you who we are! We're leaving! Shoot and run!"

Vala and Teal'c didn't need to be told twice. The combined fire from the P-90 and the staff weapon were sufficiently disorienting to the distract the Dalek long enough for all three of them to escape. Coming to the intersection, the Doctor turned right.

"Doctor, the exit is to the left," said Teal'c.

"I know. We can't go yet."

As he said it, the Dalek exited the nursery and turned in their direction. Protests aside, Vala and Teal'c continued to follow the Doctor down the corridor. The Doctor immediately turned the next corner and ducked into the first room he saw. He froze in horror as he saw an entire chamber full of Daleks. The door closing behind Vala and Teal'c, they lowered their weapons in defeat.

"Hang on a second," said the Doctor. He stepped forward and waved a hand in front of one of the eye stalks. "They're empty. They don't have drivers yet. Or they just haven't been bonded with their drivers yet."

As Teal'c pulled out his radio to contact Colonel Mitchell, the Doctor grabbed it and said, "Don't. They'll be able to pinpoint the source of the transmission."

He knew the Dalek had to be getting closer. He used his screwdriver on three of the transport units. Without drivers, there was nothing to control the defense mechanisms. They opened immediately. "Both of you, pick one and hide inside."

Teal'c said, "It is not my way to simply hide."

"Yeah?" said the Doctor, "is it you and your staff weapon against a virtually indestructible racist killer? It's not the Daleks' way to leave anything alive."

Without another word, Teal'c tossed his staff weapon between a row of transport units where it wouldn't be seen and then climbed into one of the transport units. It was cramped, but its interior shifted to accommodate him. Vala followed suit. The Doctor closed their units and climbed into his own. When Ian Chesterton had hidden inside of a Dalek transport unit, he reported that was able to control its mobility functions and could see quite well with the eyepiece. The Doctor hoped Ian had been right. If so, he may be able to interact with the Daleks of this base and find out what they were up to. The Daleks hadn't left the humans of this planet alone out of the kindness of their hearts. The Doctor wanted to know why they were here. He suspected there was more to it than the Dalek army they were clearly growing. The Dalek that had been pursuing them entered the room. Looking over the entire, massive storage chamber, the Dalek decided that the intruders were not here and left.

When the door closed the Doctor yelled so he could be heard, "Follow him."

"How?" That was Vala.

"There is a pad in front of you. Simply press it and think about the direction you want to go."

All three Daleks moved at once toward the door. Once down the corridor, it didn't take them long find the Dalek. He had been intercepted by two more Daleks and they were now talking.

"The intruders have evaded capture!" said the gray Dalek that had happened upon the Doctor and the two SG1 team members.

The black Dalek with the brass spherical bumps said, "They must be captured! We must find out what they have learned! Were you able to identify?"

"A human female not of Earth origin with traces of naquada! One Jaffa, symbiont unaccounted for! The third was a Time Lord!"

"Impossible! Only one Time Lord remained after we destroyed their world and we have not detected his TARDIS!"

"It is possible he accompanied the humans through the wormhole transit device!"

"If it is the Doctor, he must be found and exterminated at all costs!"

"I obey!" The Dalek turned and passed the three pretend Daleks, looking at them in passing before moving on.

The black Dalek turned to the other gray Dalek with him. "The new batch in the nursery has died! Explain!"

The second gray Dalek said, "Our numbers are few. For our safety, we determined not to begin harvesting living human research subjects! All DNA has been harvested from dead tissue! They survive for a time but cannot be sustained!"

"What of the Asgard DNA?"

"That DNA is deformed beyond usefulness!"

"Perhaps the Goa'uld will be more useful. Order Bastet to send some of her Jaffa to the labs."

"I obey!" The other gray Dalek disappeared down the corridor.

The black Dalek approached the three pretenders and said, "You are not Daleks! Identify!"

The Doctor's stolen unit opened and he emerged, removing the tritinium laser and pointing it at the leader. "I'm guessing this works. Nothing penetrates Dalek shields like a Dalek laser."

The Dalek looked at the laser and then into the Doctor's eyes. "You are the Doctor."

"Correct!" the Doctor shouted in a passable imitation of a Dalek. "You and your pals are the last of the monsters that destroyed everything I know. You should have died so what are you doing here?"

Vala and Teal'c had climbed out of the other two armors and were listening to the discourse between the Doctor and the Dalek. They also had dismounted the lasers and were aiming them at the Dalek.

"We survived!" the Dalek said.

"Really? How?"

"As Gallifrey burned and the Time Lock was formed, something came through! We have not been able to identify! Our ship was torn clear of the Time Lock and we crashed here!"

"How many survived?"

The Dalek's eyestalk lowered slightly and its voiced became significantly lower and distinctly somber. "We are eight. We are all that remains of the Daleks."

"Yeah, I see you're trying to grow more. Not doing so well, are you? That's the trouble with dead tissue. It's so tough to get a living cell out of it."

"Who are they, Doctor?" asked Teal'c.

"The greatest evil ever to plague the universe. They were created millions of years ago by a madman who determined that the answer to war was to create a race whose sole purpose was to destroy all living things. His greatest dream was that his Daleks would be all that was left of life in the universe. With that in mind, he genetically removed all emotion from them except hate. They would need hate to survive. They are the scourge of the universe, incredibly strong and horrifically difficult to kill. They're not completely indestructible but just one would be enough to wipe out all life on Earth before anyone could figure out how to kill it."

"Then why are we waiting?" asked Vala. "You said these weapons could kill them and we know how many there are. There are three of us and they don't exactly move very well."

The Dalek moved closer to the Doctor. "The Doctor will not. He had the opportunity to destroy us before and choose not to. His conscience weakened him!" The Dalek began to speak in his staccato screech once again. "He was weak! He could not commit murder!"

"I wasn't weak in the Time Wars." The Doctor stared point blank at the Dalek.

"That is correct! You unleashed the Eye of Harmony upon us! By your hand alone did the Dalek Empire meet its doom!" The Dalek inched closer still. "But so did your world! To destroy us, you sacrificed your own world! How does it feel, Doctor? For one moment, you were like us! I do not believe you will do it again!"

The Doctor smiled humorlessly. "You know me well, don't you."

"You are our ultimate enemy! It would be a tactical error to not know you!"

"And you of course know I've played this trick before. That's why these lasers don't work. They only respond to Dalek genes."

"Correct!"

Vala's jaw dropped. She and Teal'c looked at the Doctor in unison.

"What do you mean these lasers don't work?" Vala had turned pale.

"I just tried to use it."

The Dalek looked down at the laser again and back at the Doctor. "Perhaps I misjudged you!" The Dalek backed away. "At last, the Doctor will be exterminated! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!"

"Hold it! Hold on! There's something else I don't get!"

The Dalek stopped.

"Why all of this secrecy? You know these humans or Goa'uld wouldn't stand a chance against even one of you. Why hide down here instead of going up there and taking what you want?"

"We were detected!"

"Ah! I see! That's where you got the Asgard DNA! But still, what chance would they stand? Nothing can penetrate your shields except the strongest high explosives and even then only when expertly placed. Nothing ballistic can harm you. You can withstand a nuclear blast, but one little bullet, say from a P-90, can get through your shields by your eyestalk, can't it? The Asgard don't use weapons like this? They couldn't blind you the way Vala could."

Vala didn't even wait for a cue. The moment the Doctor had revealed the Dalek's weakness, Vala already had her weapon ready. A single report rent the air and a spark flew off of the Dalek's eyestalk. The Dalek spun wildly, screaming in a fevered pitch.

"My vision is impaired! I cannot see!"

"Run!"

Vala and Teal'c wasted no time. They followed after the Doctor as the Dalek spun around and shot wildly. As he ran, the Doctor aimed his sonic screwdriver at the the corners along the ceiling. Brackets began to come loose. Teal'c decided he would have to procure yet another staff weapon. This structure was coming down and he wouldn't have time to return for the one he left behind. The Daleks had built the facility hastily. It was modular and very few materials had gone into making it. As they reached the exit, sand began to pour into the tunnel behind them and the ceiling collapsed. Upon exiting the facility, the Doctor, Teal'c and Vala turned to see a fifty yard length of the market in disarray. There were also several large pits to the right.

"Ah," said the Doctor, "that would be the nursery and part of the factory. I was hoping to get those."

People started to flee as sand spouts blew out of the ground like geysers. Vala aimed her P-90 and Teal'c drew a zatniqital.

"You're joking, right?" The Doctor looked pointedly at the zat.

"Then what do you propose?"

As he said, four Daleks raised from the sand. They ignored the fleeing crowd and approached the Doctor, Teal'c and Vala.

"There were supposed be eight," said the Doctor. "Where are the other four?"

The black Dalek said, "Exterminate!" The other three repeated the decree.

"Keep running."

Vala and Teal'c fired several shots. Blind panic came across the crowd. Some tried to pack their belongings, but most people simply ran. They may as well have thrown rocks for what use it was. As the first shot just narrowly missed Teal'c, he and Vala abandoned the fight and followed the Doctor back in the direction of the palace. After running for several paces, the Doctor turned and stopped.

"Oh, that can't be good," he said.

"What?" asked Vala.

"Well, they're not pursuing us and I don't hear the expected sounds of mayhem and destruction. I've had a dreadful notion. The Daleks monitor all communications so they'll know your signal frequencies. The Daleks have a special interest in Earth and now, they will have seen the gate alignment when we came through."

"They will not have our ID code. General Landry will close the iris without it," said Teal'c.

"Yeah, the Daleks would account for that. If I were them, I would use a remote signal to hijack your base's computers. The good news is that it would take time. They wouldn't enter the gate until they were certain it was safe. Intuition tells me we have time."

Teal'c pulled out his radio again and said, "We should wait here and call our team members to us." Teal'c raised his radio and spoke into it. "Teal'c to Colonel Mitchell, do you copy?"

"Mitchell, here," came a static laden voice. "Did you find anything?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I am afraid the situation is serious. An alien force seems to have initiated experimentation upon the populace. The Doctor is apparently familiar with them. His response to their presence was...aggressive."

"What is the situation now?"

"We are not under attack. I have reason to believe that these aliens intend to go to Earth via the Stargate."

"Stay put. We're on our way."

"You did what?" To say that Colonel Mitchell was unhappy would have been an understatement.

Vala said, "They had said they were experimenting on the dead and they had resolved to begin experimenting on the living population."

"I wasn't talking to you, Vala." Mitchell's eyes never left the Doctors. If Mitchell thought the Doctor would turn away first, we was sorely mistaken.

"You see, this is why I don't like working with other people. They get funny idea in their heads. They seem to think they know everything." The Doctor's gaze never left Mitchell's.

"So you just thought you would flush them out onto a populated planet?"

"I have no intention of explaining myself to a child who has two experience exploring a universe I've been crossing for 800 years."

"Oh, is that the range of your time travel?"

"No, that just happens to be 10 billion years. I just happened to be a hundred-years-old when I started crossing it. You have a gun and a pilot's license and think you're all set."

"Listen. We have rules for this kind of encounter. I did not write them, but they are in place for a reason."

"I see we have to recap the age issue. I'm sorry what are the rules for dealing with a nigh indestructible, virtually unstoppable race of ten million-year-old mutant psychopaths whose sole reason for existence is to eradicate all living things they consider to be inferior, which is every living thing that isn't like them because they were created by a madman who wanted to be a god, who, might I add, have a special obsession with Earth, because I have personally stopped them from conquering it and destroying all life on it no less than a dozen times?"

Mitchell blinked several times. "You do have to breath, right? I mean, the only other person I knew who could talk like that without drawing a breath was my old history teacher in high school."

"Of course, I have to breath!"

"Colonel Mitchell," said Teal'c, "I was present and I do believe the Doctor's actions were fully justified. I do not believe we would have escaped."

"Alright," said Mitchell, "look, we can talk about this later. It's done and now we're wasting time."

The Daleks were nowhere to be found. The entire area around the gate was deserted. Several Jaffa had accompanied SG1 back to the gate. Teal'c had been given a new staff weapon. So far, there were no Daleks in sight. Mitchell looked over to the Doctor.

"I don't know," the Doctor said.

Mitchell moved closer to him and said, "Look, I know we don't agree with each other, but I think we need to work together here and now. I like to be cautious."

"Perfectly understandable."

"And don't get me wrong. Anyone who can stump Sam Carter has got to be a freaking super genius."

"I won't argue with that."

"That having been said, I would like to know your opinion, now. What would your next move be?"

The Doctor's eyebrows raised and his mouth opened but no sound came out. "Well," he said, and then trailed off.

"You're making this up as you go, aren't you?"

"Pretty much."

"Yeah, I have a habit of doing that, too." Mitchell looked at each member of his team.

Sam laughed and shook her head...again. The Doctor was clearly defying Sam's sense of logic. Daniel looked like he had an idea, but he wasn't saying anything. Vala looked annoyed, and Teal'c looked...like Teal'c.

"Okay, Doctor. Forget ideas," Mitchell said.

"Oh, you'll find life is much more interesting if you do that," the Doctor said.

"What do you think? Where are the Daleks?"

"Well...I think they're watching this gate from hiding. I think they are waiting for us to approach it."

"Okay, so what would you do?"

"I'd walk up to the gate and see what they do."

"You would?"

"Absolutely! It's the easiest way to find them."

Once again, Mitchell blinked several times. "Okay, see, we wouldn't do that. We prefer not to get shot at."

"Well, you see, these Daleks aren't acting normally and I am very anxious to know why."

"What is normal behavior for them?"

"They normally exterminate a large portion of the population, enslave everyone else, do their experiments, then wipe out all life on the planet. This lot's doing it in a different order. They've started with experimentation and are moving on to enslavement. Extermination isn't on the table yet. My thinking is, they're up to something, and when Daleks are up to something, it is never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, good. They may be little green blobs, but they are extremely clever little green blobs. They're all little mad scientists in their own right. They feel no emotion except hate and occasionally fear.

"The five of us and these Jaffa guards are all there is to fight them. Energy weapons are absolutely useless, so there's no point in the Jaffa even being here. The only thing you can do with those machine guns in a fire fight is possibly get off a lucky shot that only temporarily blinds one of them and that only helps us if we plan on escape." The Doctor gestured towards the gate. "There's the escape route. The trouble is, they clearly want us to go there. Turning around and leaving won't accomplish anything. The only other choice is to approach the gate and see what happens."

Sam looked at her surrounding environment. She examined the gate and scanned across the horizon. "I've got an idea. Mitchell, Teal'c and Vala can cover me and Daniel while we go and signal SG1. If nothing happens then at least we can check in. If the Daleks attack, then you guys can give cover fire while Doctor Jackson and I either return to this position or go through the gate, depending on the situation. As for the Doctor, I think he should stay where the Daleks are since he clearly knows how best to fight them."

After a bit of debate, they all agreed on Sam's plan. Vala, Teal'c and Mitchell took positions in covered locations of the market, giving them a wide view of the Stargate. The Doctor crouched behind an abandoned fruit cart. He took a fruit that resembled a pear, but when he bit into it, it tasted like a cross between a strawberry and a kiwi.

Sam and Daniel cautiously approached the gate with their P-90s held high, the better to take aim for the eyes. The closer they got to the gate, the more tension was in the air. The slightest sound would have been enough to set either one of them off. Nevertheless, they reached the gate without incident. Daniel entered the gate alignment and after a few moments, the Stargate opened. Still nothing happened. Sam thought she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked there was nothing. She had the distinct impression she was being watched.

"SGC this is Colonel Carter, SG1," said Sam.

General Landry's voice came through. "We read you, Colonel. Is everything alright?"

"Negative, Sir. Bastet and her people are being terrorized by a small group of extremely dangerous invaders. I've never heard of anything like them, but the Doctor believes they may have shot down an Asgard warship somewhere on this planet. They are--"

But what were would have to wait. Whatever the Daleks were waiting for, it wasn't happening fast enough. Three Daleks appeared and attacked Mitchell's, Vala's and Teal'c's positions. Sam and Daniel got their first looks at the Daleks as two rose out of the sand and approached them. Their only escape was through the Stargate.

The Dalek closest to the Stargate said, "Exterminate!"

Sam dropped to her stomach as a blast of energy flew over her head. Sam was a crack shot and struck the eyestalk of the Dalek with a bulls-eye. Daniel wasted no time entering SG1's IDC and he and Sam dived through the gate. The Dalek who had been blinded recovered quickly and glided over to the dial-home device, and affixed his scanner probe to it.

"The humans have a erected a screen on their wormhole transit device! I have access to their system with the identification code that the human Daniel Jackson used!"

The black Dalek said, "Order their system to remove the screen! The conquest of Earth will commence!"

"I obey!"

Three more Daleks approached the Stargate. When the scanning Dalek confirmed the removal of the iris, his four companions went through. The three Daleks attacking SG1 abandoned their attack and also went through the gate. The scanning Dalek was the last to go through. The Doctor was finally able to safely leave the protection of the fruit cart and darted to the Stargate. It closed before he was even near it. The Doctor thought it was better that he didn't make it. He would have had no protection in the gate room. No, if they were going to rescue the SGC and Earth, there was no way they would be able to do it with the Stargate. The problem was that the TARDIS was on Earth, and Bastet had no Ha'teks. The Doctor shouted in frustration. It had all been a ruse. The Daleks had used him and SG1 to gain access to the more technologically developed planet Earth. Clever little blobs, they were.


	5. The Taking of the Gate Room

Rose sat in the cafeteria, quite bored. She could have explored the TARDIS, but she generally didn't feel safe doing that when the Doctor wasn't there. Eating a bowl of Fruit Loops, she was listening to the stories of the various SG teams. Some of them were amusing and others were exciting. Some even rivaled a few of Rose's less interesting adventures. Of course, from what she had heard, she was sure that SG1 had the best stories to tell. After all, they were the ones trusted to topple evil empires.

A woman only a little older than Rose sat across from her as well as a man, not that much older.

"Rose Tyler, right?" asked the woman.

"Yeah," said Rose.

"I'm Lieutenant Lindsey Benson and this is Major James Haddar. I've been reading the UNIT file on the Doctor."

"We both have," Haddar said.

"And..." she trailed off.

"We don't want to be rude but we were wondering: what's it like? I mean-traveling with him?"

Rose was a bit taken aback. She had expected many things from the American military, but not being the antenna of the Doctor's fan worship. "You travel through space, right?"

"Yeah," said Benson, "but truth be told, we go to a lot of Earth-like planets, meet a lot of human aliens, and a lot of generic evil lords. You aren't limited to the Stargate network. We're a little curious."

Haddar, who looked quite nervous, said, "We heard about a werewolf."

Rose had been bored and why not? She now had someone to talk to. "Is that what you're asking about?" She started laughing. "I really shouldn't laugh. The Doctor has these moments when he messes up and ends up getting a number wrong here and there. We were trying to go to 1979 and ended up in 1879. We meet Queen Victoria-I tell you, bloody Queen Victoria, can you imagine-and end up going with her to some lord's cottage. It was more like a quaint mansion, really. There are a bunch of monks who bring a werewolf with them to turn the Queen into a werewolf."

"Queen Victoria? The woman who had an entire era named after her?" Benson wore an expression of awe. "And she was attacked by a real live werewolf!"

"I know, right!" Rose giggled and said, "The Doctor reckons she was bit, right across the wrist. I mean, I was standing right there when that thing got to us. Afterward the Doctor was going on about the Royal's private disease that was only called haemophilia! Thing is, it's a genetic illness that started with Queen Victoria! She knighted us and then banished us! She said it was for inappropriate knowledge of the stars but I think it was because we saw her get bit. Me mum freaked when I told her about it. I don't think I'll be mentioning werewolves to her again."

"I'm surprised you didn't freak. I think I would have."

"Yeah? Who says I didn't, but I'm not going to just stand there while a twelve foot dog is looking for a nip."

Haddar turned to Benson and asked, "Do we have a story that even comes close to topping that?"

Benson sat back and pondered for a moment and said, "The Sirius Gate was a pretty good one. On one of my first missions, the team I was on came across a mirror that made anything you were thinking of real. I had been thinking about the books my brother liked to read and when I looked into it, it conjured a twenty foot dragon. I am not allowed to look into anymore mirrors unless they are in the bathroom or my purse."

"I'm glad I'm not on SG8..."

Benson turned back to Rose. "What is your favorite place and time you've ever been to?"

Rose grinned at the thought, the memory of that amazing place. "Five billion years in the future, New Earth, the second start of the new human race after the Doctor rescued them from the cat hospital..."

Benson laughed and said, "That sounds totally wild and even traveling the Stargate, we will never, ever, ever have an experience like that."

"You should have seen the End of the Earth. The Doctor got us prime seats. Humans are famous in the distant future, and a bunch of alien species that ended up completely blended with humans preserved Earth for posterity. When it came time for the sun to die, they made an event of it. They sold tickets and everything."

Haddar said, "Now we are getting off the charts. I have to hear this."

An alarm went off in the base and a red light flashed crimson near the ceiling. "Unscheduled off-world activation."

"That could be SG1 and the Doctor," said Rose.

Benson said, "Well, let's go see."

Rose polished off her Fruit Loops and then all three made their way to the gate control room. A passing guard told them that SG1 was checking in. The unscheduled part of the alarm had Rose worried. In the gate room, Rose could hear Colonel Carter's voice explaining about trouble they had run into. Turning to view the gate, Rose heard a loud noise over the speakers and the sound of machine gun fire. As she heard it, a laser blast came through the gate, narrowly missing the soldiers guarding it and hitting the back wall of the gate room under the viewing port. The laser had a terrifyingly familiar sound and appearance to Rose Tyler. She felt a cold dread clutching at her heart.

"Daleks," she said aloud. Everybody heard her.

The gate controller said, "I have SG1's IDC."

Seconds later, Carter and Doctor Jackson came diving out of the gate, both of them hitting the floor, hard. General O'Niell came in with General Landry just as Carter shouted, "Close the iris!"

"What about the Doctor and the rest of the team?" Rose asked, knowing Carter couldn't hear. The iris closed over the gate with a clank, and then suddenly opened again.

"What are you doing? Close it!" Carter shouted into the intercom.

The controller called back to the two generals. "I'm completely locked out. There's nothing I can do."

General Landry spoke into a portable intercom unit. "Soldiers, shoot anything that comes out of the Stargate."

"No," Rose shouted. "They'll be slaughtered."

"Miss," said Landry, "I know how to run my own base."

"Please just listen. What's coming through that gate will kill all of your troops in seconds flat. Bullets won't even slow them down. If you can't close the gate, then you can't stop them from coming through."

As she said it, a Dalek came through, his eyestalk swiveling, observing the force that greeted him. True to their orders, the troops opened fire. The Dalek stood calmly observing the troops that so brutally attacking it. Two more Daleks followed and then two more and still the shooting didn't end. Yet not one Dalek was so much as scratched.

Rose took a step closer to Landry and said, "When your men stop shooting, the Daleks will take their turn."

Landry shouted into the intercom, "All units, withdraw from the gate room." He turned to the technicians around him. "Get the gate room sealed off."

As the men stopped firing, the Daleks opened fire. "Exterminate!" Nearly half of the soldiers were dead before the survivors cleared the gate room. Carter and Jackson held back to make sure nobody was left behind. The slow moving doors clanged shut just as three more Daleks exited the gate, making it a grand total of eight. Rose stared blankly out of the viewing port.

"Any other advice?" asked Landry, with a hint of annoyance.

"Daleks can fly," Rose said blankly.

O'Neill caught on first and said, "Close the viewing port." He turned to Rose. He must have seen how terrified she was. "It's okay, nothing is getting through those doors. They're designed to hold back a rocket launch."

The shutter over the viewing screen closed with a clang. Within seconds, it was glowing red. Carter and Jackson had made it into the control room after checking on the survivors. They were just in time to see the plexiglass viewing window shatter and crumble.

"How long?" asked Landry.

Looking at the shutters, which were now white, Carter said, "At the rate they're going, they'll be through any minute."

O'Neill looked at each person in the command center. All eyes were on him. He suddenly wished he had decided not to postpone his return to Washington. "Dennis," he said, turning to Landry, "I am giving you authorization to activate emergency countermeasures."

"What's that?" asked Rose.

Benson said, "They're going to blow up the base."

Burying the Daleks was certainly an idea. It may not stop them, but it would definitely slow them down. How did this happen? In England, she was still girl of thirteen. Daleks were invading the Earth, the Doctor was trapped on another planet without his TARDIS, and she, Rose had suddenly become the closest thing to an expert on Daleks that Earth had.

"Hang on a second," said Landry. "Emergency countermeasures might be a little hasty. There has to be some way to take these guys down."

Daniel said, "Sir, you saw it yourself. We hit them as hard as possible at point blank range and they didn't even flinch. Unless Rose knows something, I don't see how we can contain these creatures."

Rose said, "Sorry guys, the last Dalek invasion I helped destroy was a one shot deal. I couldn't tell you how it happened, and I don't think it can be duplicated." She looked nervously to the shutters, which were deteriorating quickly. "Could we discuss this away from here?"

Carter said, "Is there any way to stop these things?"

"The Doctor could tell you better than me. They can be stopped, but I don't think any of us is going to figure out how to do it in the next five minutes."

A Dalek could now be seen through a hole in the shutters. Its beam continued to burn into the steel that was supposed to be able to withstand a nuclear launch.

Landry said, "Alright, we are evacuating this base." He pulled a card from his shirt pocket. He slid it in a card reader on the wall and opened a door next to it from which he pulled three keys. He gave one to O'Neill and one to the gate controller. He turned to the other people in the gate room and said, "Don't wait. Get clear of this base and out beyond the perimeter." He turned to Rose. "Will dropping a mountain on the Daleks stop them?"

"No," she said, "but it will definitely slow them down."

"Tough little sons of bitches." He addressed everyone else again. "Okay, once you're out, set up a perimeter and base camp. We'll be right behind you." Landry activated a wall intercom and repeated the evacuation order to the rest of the base.

The airmen and women filed out of the room. Carter and Jackson went with Rose, Benson and Haddar. As they reached the elevator, Rose turned to go to the MALP storage room.

Carter said, "The exit is this way."

Rose turned and said, "Not for me. I have to find the Doctor. He's the only one who can stop them."

Benson said, "Rose, the Doctor is trapped on a planet on the other side of the Stargate."

"Right then, and I'm going to get him. I can't bloody well do that without the TARDIS."

Jackson said, "Rose, I can imagine it's a very complicated piece of machinery, but this mountain is coming down in twenty-five minutes."

"That's fine. She's indestructible. The mountain won't hurt her. The Daleks can't get in either. Look, she's our only chance of getting the Doctor back here in time to deal with the Daleks."

Benson shook her head. "You're going the wrong way. The MALP room is this way."

Carter tried to protest, but when Haddar also went with Rose and Benson, followed by Jackson, Carter realized that she was overruled and followed behind. It was a short detour and if this TARDIS couldn't help, then they still had time to find their way out with time to spare. In the MALP room, the strange blue box stood like a sentinel, so out of place, its innocent appearance strangely intimidating in the room of seemingly more sophisticated equipment. What was so intimidating about the blue box was that its bizarrely antique and quaint appearance made it seem that much more alien. Indeed, it hid technology none could imagine.

Sam Carter was suddenly struck by the abstract reality of the TARDIS, and standing in the MALP room with it made it a chilling experience. She didn't know how she knew, but innately, in her soul, in the essence of her being, Sam Carter knew that in this room there was a presence so terrifyingly ancient, the Earth had not yet been born when this presence was old. Sam realized, once again not knowing how she knew, this blue box was reacting to the presence of the Daleks. It hadn't been frightening every time she had been in here, but now Sam was frozen in place and she realized that the other humans in the room could feel it too when she looked at the faces of the others. Only Rose was unperturbed.

Looking back, Rose smiled slyly and then placed a key in the door of this old English telephone booth. Rose gestured for them to follow and went inside. Sam approached cautiously, as did Daniel, Lieutenant Benson and Major Haddar. For a moment, the blue box seemed exceedingly mundane. Indeed, there seemed nothing abnormal about it and it looked homely and even inviting. Sam realized that it was trick to put the humans at ease, and she realized this by reminding herself of the manner by which this blue box had come to be here. They all knew she meant them no harm.

Daniel said, "A little cramped, isn't it?"

Sam was the first to step inside. Nothing like this ever existed on Earth or any of the worlds the Stargate connected it to. Indeed, the Asgard looked like primitive hunter gatherers by comparison to this technology. A massive room occupied the inside of the tiny blue box, and the doors in the back indicated a much larger area beyond. Benson was the next one in, followed by Jackson, and then Haddar. Rose swept past them and closed the door, latching it.

"Okay," said Rose, "Daleks can't get in here and the mountain can't crush us. Think, what did the Doctor say?" The Doctor had left his psychic paper behind. Looking on it, she examined the gate alignment, and threw the switches she knew would convert them into the constellations they represented. As she did, a hologram of the Doctor appeared.

"Ah, Rose," he said cheerfully, "and unnamed people that I have never met in my whole life, I see you are trying to operate the TARDIS without me. Well, she won't let you. She's picky that way. So, if you are watching this, then I am stranded without the TARDIS and you are trying to get to me. I accounted for that possibility so I made this recording. Rose, there are pre-programmed chips ready for you to use. Tell me, (A) are you trying to find me, (B) go to your last location, or (C) trying to escape attack?"

Rose shrugged. "(A)."

"Okay, on this side of the control console, you'll find a storage box mounted underneath." Rose climbed underneath the console. When she found the box, she opened it, and the holo-Doctor said, "Good, now do you see those funny colored little sticks that kind of look like the scoops that come with those cheese snacks?"

"Yes."

"You want the red one...that's not red; it's dark orange...the red one is on your right...your other right."

Rose jumped up looking quite harrassed. In her hand was the red chip. "I hate when he does that. It always creeps me out how even his recordings know what you're doing."

"Good, now do you see the slot next to those blinking red lights that never blink unless we're all about to die? Ignore the lights and stick the red chip into the slot."

Rose did as she was told and the TARDIS suddenly lurched. It's ancient grind, like an old wheel scraping against the cogs of time, calling like an ancient siren into the depths of space and time. The TARDIS was hardly steady and everyone held on to whatever they could find. In mere moments, the TARDIS found solid ground. Uncertain, Rose went to the doors of the TARDIS, opened them and looked out.

Generals O'Neill and Landry looked into the mouth of the tunnel that lead to the SGC. It stood, quite intact. Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson hadn't come out. Neither had Rose or two SG officers that had been accompanying her. Even more peculiar, through infrared telemetry throughout the base, they were able to confirm that they were not in there. O'Neill and Landry both hoped they had escaped in the Doctor's ship. Unfortunately, the welfare of the people they immediately cared about were not the two generals' most pressing concern. They literally had the weight of the world upon their shoulders.

"There's supposed to be an explosion!" shouted O'Neill. "Why isn't anything going boom?"

A control room technician offered, "We saw how the Daleks were able to take control of the Stargate functions from the other side of the gate. Maybe they've overridden the emergency countermeasures."

That was really the only thing it could be. Landry said, "Then we'll go with the secondary countermeasure. Collapse the entry tunnel."

Colonel Sharpton of SG4 had been ready for this order. Holding a control device, he threw a switch and then pulled a trigger mechanism. A loud rumble came from the tunnel and a surprisingly small amount of fire blew out with the dust and debris as rock shifted above it. The SGC was sealed off. The bad news was that the Daleks were in control of Earth's primary means of space travel. The good news was that there was, at least, still an SGC for them to reclaim. A single tunnel was easy enough to clear. Indeed, the Daleks just might do that for them. Stone and concrete with some cyclone fencing littered the asphalt road that used to lead into the mountain.

"Now we prepare," said O'Neill. "I want to build a temporary base camp right here, fully equipped. What's the nearest base?" said O'Neill, turning to Landry. "I want heavy explosives shipped in from Peterson Air Base along with additional personnel. They can't be invincible. Something has to get through that armor."

The Doctor picked up a stone and threw it at the gate, for what good it would do. He was in a mess this time. Bastet's fleet had been destroyed when Apophis assumed her weak for turning good. She may have lost her fleet, but Apophis learned never to challenge her again. So the Doctor had no way back to Earth and no way back to his TARDIS except for that one glimmer of hope he had left Rose. The problem was, with Daleks running amok at the SGC, it was unlikely that they would even allow Rose to pin her hopes on a blue box. She was probably temporarily safe outside of the mountain. The good thing was that Rose at least had a clue of how to fight Daleks. She would not be as proficient as the Doctor, but her advice could at least give the military a chance against eight Daleks.

Mitchell stepped out into the deserted square, a look of alarm on his face. Approaching the Doctor, he said, "Well, I didn't see that one coming. Were they really able to override all of our safeties from here?"

The Doctor laughed humorlessly. "I am afraid that for the Daleks, it would have been child's play. Well, we aren't going home that way."

A pile of debris, not far from where they were standing shifted. Vala's hand reached out and muffled voice shouted, "Don't just stand there! Get me out of here!"

"Vala's okay," said Mitchell.

He and the Doctor rushed over to her and cleared the debris, mostly broken wood and tent material with some heavy stones, until she could move freely. Teal'c had also been buried in debris and had only just managed to dig his way out. They all stood together now, Vala and Teal'c brushing themselves off.

"I'm afraid I missed the last part," said Vala. "What happened after I was buried?"

Mitchell said, "Sam and Daniel dove through the gate and the Daleks went through after overriding our iris."

"Well, when are we going back?"

"That would be unwise," said Teal'c. "Their power is far beyond that which Earth is capable of withstanding. They will undoubtedly have control of the Stargate. To return is certain death. We would be eliminated the moment we stepped out of the gate."

"Well, Bastet is a system lord. After we took her problem to Earth, the least she can do is give us a lift."

"Yeah, that's going to be a problem," said the Doctor. "Bastet lost her fleet in a war with Apophis." Teal'c wore a puzzled expression. "It was before you were born." The Doctor tapped his forehead with his sonic screwdriver. "Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that there are no ships here. Maybe Bastet can point us in the right direction."

Once at the palace, Bastet explained that the only two ships left on the planet were the Dalek ship and an Asgard ship that the Daleks had destroyed. Neither were space worthy or likely ever to be again. Many humans had come to the palace to praise SG1 and the Doctor as heroes. Bastet did not discourage them but she did not join them. She knew, as did the Doctor, that as long as the Daleks lived, there absence was only temporary. Now Earth was endangered, the Doctor was in a poor position to stop the Daleks, and Bastet blamed herself for the deteriorating situation.

Mitchell said, "I think you had better tell us everything you know about the Daleks."

The Doctor sighed heavily. "Much of it is personal. You see the enemies a mortal human accumulates. Just imagine what kind of enemies the last survivor of the oldest living civilization has." Every Jaffa, Goa'uld and human present had given the Doctor his or her undivided attention. He sat upon a bench. "The Daleks are incredibly old. Older than any of you can imagine. They come from a planet called Skaro, in a galaxy some 2000 million light-years from here. It was part of a cluster of eight galaxies. The planet was in the midst of a racial war between the Kaleds and the Thals that had lasted for nearly a thousand years.

"Lead scientist among the Kaleds, Davros had began experimenting on the mutated victims of nuclear radiation. The Kaleds looked like humans, but Davros had begun to experiment with the evolution of the Kaleds. He pushed the limits of Kaled evolution to its maximum potential, only to find that they were small blobs of flesh with a single eye. Davros realized that the Kaleds could not survive in such a state, so he designed those transport units, which you just saw. They weren't good enough. Davros began to genetically engineer Daleks with fewer and fewer emotions. Davros was convinced that the key to peace was the complete extermination of all races inferior to the Kaleds, deluded by the philosophy that Kaleds were the supreme beings of the universe."

Mitchell said, "So they're a bunch of little Hitler blobs? Geez, interstellar Nazis!"

"I first encountered the Daleks in my first life. Me and Susan..."

"Okay, what do you mean by 'first life'?"

Bastet said, "Time Lords do not die. When their bodies are killed or worn out, they regenerate. Everything changes. They have new bodies, new faces, new personalities and all that remains is the memories and the feelings they have for certain cherished friends and family."

"Wow, that could be confusing at family reunions."

"Time Lords can tell the difference," said the Doctor. "With practice, some humans have learned how to identify a Time Lord who has changed appearance. No matter how many times I change my face, Alistair always manages to recognize me. He and I go a long way..."

Vala said, "I take it you mean Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. He's the one who wrote most of your UNIT files."

"Where was I? Susan! Yes, I thought she was safe. My body had grown quite old. Susan was my daughter, but because I looked so old, she had decided that among humans, I would be her grandfather, to deter any kind of confusion. She fell in love with a human and I thought she was safe. During my eighth lifetime, Susan returned to me. Her whole family had died of old age and she was as young as I could remember. She told me I had been right." What the Doctor had been right about, he didn't elaborate on.

"At that time, the last Time War began. The Daleks had grown to such power they challenged the might of the Time Lords themselves. My daughter and I were renegades, but the Time Lord counsel made it clear that we were not regarded as criminals. It was their way of saying that they wanted our help. Refusing the Time Lords is always unwise, so I fought. The Daleks won, and then the real evil presented itself. Gallifrey had grown so old, corrupt, so mentally diseased, that the Time Lords decided that the universe did not deserve to exist without Gallifrey.

"They unlocked the horrors of time. Devils even your darkest religions could scarcely imagine poured from the cracks of reality. Susan, from my TARDIS, opened the Eye of Harmony. The Vortex of Time opened itself to my will. The Daleks, the Whatnots and Neverweres of time and Gallifrey were all in one place. I didn't realize Susan was acting as a conduit. I simply thought the Heart of the TARDIS had revealed herself. I unleashed the flames of reality onto all of it. Those eight Daleks and I are the only ones who survived. There are some things even a Time Lord can't survive and Susan was gone. My injuries were too much and I regenerated again. Shortly thereafter, I met Rose.

"In the course of a year of traveling together, we found two Daleks that had survived the war. One was captured and being tortured in the play room of a collector of alien artifacts. He didn't survive long. The other found himself in orbit of Earth five million years in the future. He built an empire slowly taking humans, without the knowledge of the Human Empire, and turning them into Daleks. These Daleks were not Kaled and so were of DNA inferior to a Dalek's standard. It was almost like Original Sin for them. Because these Daleks were human, they considered themselves unworthy. Now, not only was I dealing with a race with a superiority complex, but one that was doubly driven by religious zeal. In many ways, they were even worse than the Daleks you just met.

"Rose did exactly what Susan did, and opened the Eye of Harmony. This time, though I was able to absorb it from Rose and expel the energy before it did any significant damage to either of us. Still, it was too much for me and I regenerated again. Here I am. Now these Daleks have survived the Time War. I can only wonder if the Impure survived as well."

Once he was sure the Doctor's story had ended, Mitchell said, "Well that settles it. We have to find a way back to Earth. We have to. These creatures have to be stopped at all costs."

"Oh, I agree completely, but I am a bit perturbed by the Prime Dalek's behavior towards me. Daleks are a time traveling race to. They have none of the subtlety of a Time Lord nor do they appreciate the finesse of time travel, but they do have senses that only a time traveler would have. Rose is developing them too. They are characteristics the Daleks find useful. I did not set a course for the SGC but the TARDIS took me there anyway at exactly the point in time when Bastet would call for help. I have a very bad feeling this Dalek wants something from me. I sense something outside of time at work here and I think the Prime Dalek senses it too. How was an entire Dalek ship thrown clear of the Time Lock, only to crash here and then the survivors don't conquer the planet? It doesn't add up."

Teal'c turned to Bastet and said, "Is there anywhere on this planet a ship could be hidden?"

Bastet looked down and pondered. "There are temples to various gods where visiting system lords may have kept ships over the years, but they have been abandoned for sometime."

The Doctor said, "Well that's a start. We can also try taking the Stargate to a planet with readily available transportation."

As the Doctor spoke, a familiar sound filled the air. It had actually been going on for some time before the Doctor noticed. Looking at the source of the sound, the first indication that something was entering the physical realm was a static buildup in an unoccupied corner of the throne room. The static took a distinctly square shape and a flashing light began to glow. Then the Doctor heard the sound of time and his TARDIS appeared before him. He couldn't immediately recall a time he had been so happy to see her.

The doors opened inward and Sam Carter stepped out, followed by Daniel Jackson, two officers from other SG teams, and Rose Tyler came out last. The Doctor rushed forward and hugged Rose, lifting her off the ground.

"Wasn't that a little crowded?" asked Mitchell.

"Right," said Benson, "the inside is a bit more spacious than it looks."

Sam said, "We are in serious trouble. The Daleks have completely overrun the SGC and Landry has initiated emergency countermeasures."

Mitchell asked, "Will that stop the Daleks?"

"No," said the Doctor, "but it will slow them down."

"That's what Rose said," said Daniel. "Landry and O'Neill have ordered a full perimeter set around the mountain."

Bastet said, "I will accompany you. This situation is my responsibility and I must see it through to the end."

Mitchell said, "It's a nice offer, but I don't think all of us are going to fit in there as it is."

Benson shook her head jerkily. "There's plenty of room in there. Trust me."

Sam said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Doctor, this is Lieutenant Lindsey Benson and Major James Haddar."

"Lin is fine," said Lindsey.

The Doctor nodded in Bastet's direction. All of SG1, plus Rose, Lin, Haddar, Bastet and two of her Jaffa piled in. Mitchell, Vala, Teal'c, Bastet and the two Jaffa stared in wonder, all of their mouths open in shock.

Mitchell said, "It's-it's-it's..."

"Speechless, I see. Let me help. 'It's bigger on the inside.'"

"Yeah, that."

"TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space."

"It's dimensionally transcendent," said Sam.

Mitchell didn't understand either explanation. "Meaning it's bigger on the inside."

"Essentially."

"Right," said the Doctor, "I'm assuming the Daleks will have control of the SGC by now, have probably overridden the emergency countermeasures, and are establishing a Dalek stronghold near the gate room. So, I am going to want to go outside of the mountain, right?"

"I would think so," said Sam.

The Doctor began throwing switches and ringing bells on the indecipherable console. After turning a rather large dial, he cheerfully said, "Allons-y. And you might want to hold on to something."


	6. The Gauntlet

The trucks and the portable buildings that comprised the temporary base had been set up rather quickly. General O'Neill was still waiting on his weapons shipments from the nearest air base and he was worried sick about his old team. Sam and Daniel never came out of the mountain and neither did Rose. Teal'c was still stuck on a distant planet and so was Vala and Mitchell. When the mountain hadn't collapsed, they had been forced to settle for sealing off the entrances. To make matters worse, Richard Woolsey had arrived with a Washington bigwig.

The official closely resembled in a weasel. He had a receding hairline and a large hooked nose. O'Neill generally waited until a person opened his or her mouth before deciding whether or not he liked that person. In the case of government officials, he didn't wait. He thought he may have been allergic to them. Whenever one was in the same room with him, he had a tendency to go deaf and nod his head. That had to be an allergic reaction.

"General O'Neill," said the official, smiling pleasantly, "I'm from the Department of Defense. Jeffrey Tyler." He extended his hand. O'Neill reluctantly shook it. Tyler went on. "You know, when I heard that you allowed an alien invasion force a foothold on this planet, you know, I said to myself, 'These people defending this planet are always on the ball.' Tell me. Why didn't you close the iris?"

"We did," said O'Neill. "They found a way to override it, and they don't have feet."

He continued to smile cordially. "They overrode it? They were on the other side of the galaxy. You know, I'll bet General Landry is glad you were there because now he doesn't have to take responsibility." He shook his head. "What do you mean, 'They don't have feet'?"

"You said they gained a foothold on this planet. They don't have feet, and therefore your statement isn't exactly correct."

"Is that a joke? Do you see something funny here?"

"Yes, I find you highly amusing. The funny part is that I can't work to get this situation under control if a guy with an overinflated ego is too busy exerting his," O'Neill looked Tyler up and down, "less than ample weight on it."

"Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Yeah, you're the guy who thinks he knows our jobs better than we do because you sit in an office all day making paper airplanes out of security memos."

"I'm the guy who has been placed in operational charge by the President of the United States."

General O'Neill pulled out his cellphone and said, "Well, I guess I'll just have to have a chat with him. Excuse me for a moment." General O'Neill called the President and stepped outside of the trailer that was serving as the command center for a mobile base around SGC.

General Landry had established a perimeter of troops around the entrance to the mountain. This was the second day since the evacuation and everyone knew the IOA would have to come sooner or later. To make matters worse, all of SG1 was missing. Landry was expecting the worm from IOA that Woolsey had brought with him to assail him at any moment. So far, the base had been quiet and they had no view inside. The Daleks had apparently taken control of all of their systems.

Numerous SG teams and troops were position around every possible exit from the mountain. RPGs, stinger missiles, and Nikita rockets were all pointed at the entrance, everyone well aware of the ineffectiveness of the small weapons rounds. There were many scared men and women aiming weapons at the entrance to the SGC.

Landry now saw O'Neill having a phone conversation and the government official was walking towards Landry. Landry tried to ignore him but to no avail.

"Hello," he said, "I'm Jeffrey Tyler. Don't worry, I am saving the worst of it for O'Neill. I just want to ask you what happened."

Landry squared his shoulders and said, "Go right ahead."

"Okay, I'll keep this short and sweet. When Colonel Carter and Doctor Jackson returned through gate, what happened?"

"Carter told us to close the iris."

"Why didn't you?"

"We did."

"Why was it opened again?"

"These Daleks had some how managed to hack our SG signal using the IDC we issued to SG1. They took complete control of the system and opened the iris."

"Why didn't you shut off power to the gate?"

"Because we weren't powering the gate. The gate had been opened from the target planet. The only way we could have closed our Stargate was if it had been opened from our side."

"And the Daleks proved to be indestructible?"

"Mr. Tyler, some of the survivors say they emptied two clips on the single Dalek that entered the Gate Room and we had fifty men shooting at it. There wasn't a scratch on it."

"That explains why everyone here is pointing rocket launchers instead of guns."

"We're trying to get a rail cannon shipped in for good measure."

Tyler nodded and said, "Okay, tell me about the Doctor."

"He is definitely an alien. He is well known on Earth. Confirmed through our contacts in the U. N. to be non-hostile. He passed all of our tests. He cooperated. He gave us a gate address with no idea of what kind of danger awaited him or SG1 and as I understand it, he risked his life trying to get SG1 back to us."

"And the two who came back have gone missing again. I have read the Doctor's file also, General Landry. For the time being, I'll reserve judgment. He has quite a few very powerful friends on this planet. Rumor has it, he's on a first name basis with the Queen of England. Okay, General, you've been a great help and looks like O'Neill is done with his conversation with the President."

Indeed, O'Neill was walking up to them now. He handed the phone to Tyler and said, "He wants to talk to you."

Tyler took the phone and put it to his ear. "Yes, sir. I understand, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Well, I've been going over it with them, and it doesn't appear that there was very much they really could have done. I will, sir." Tyler handed the phone back. "He's hung up. We're supposed to play nice together."

"Yeah, he told me," said O'Neill, taking back his phone.

"We got off on the wrong foot."

"Yeah, you stepped on mine. Apology accepted. Sorry I said you were less than ample."

"Fair enough. I think we can agree that we don't want the Daleks getting out of here. Let's work together to make that happen."

O'Neill turned in the direction of the entrance and said, "Unfortunately, we do not have a great deal of information about these Daleks. We know that energy weapons don't work and we know regular caliber weapons are useless and so are armor piercing rounds. We have to consider the possibility that missiles and RPGs won't do a whole lot."

"What do you think will?"

"Well, we've sent out an SOS and we hope the Asgard can help us out with that. Hopefully, Thor will show up soon."

As O'Neill said it, an explosion shook the ground. The entrance began to move. Debris began to fall from the entrance as pebbles and dust were shaken off. Several large pieces of debris dislodged with another explosion.

"Steady," Landry said to the waiting troops. "Don't fire until I give the order."

Smoke, dust and fire burst from the clogged entrance and debris flew out in all directions. Some of it landed quite close. The SGC was no longer buried. There they stood, the mechanical beings ready to destroy everything. Smoothly, they glided forward.

"Stingers, open fire!"

A series of stingers missiles streamed towards the Daleks and found their marks. In total, four Daleks had emerged from the hole and five stinger missiles apiece had struck them. Nothing could be seen through the dust the numerous explosions kicked up, then the four Daleks emerged from that fog, quite unscathed.

"Stingers and Nikitas, fire!"

This volley produced a series of explosions that would have flattened and battalion of tanks. As before, the Daleks were unharmed.

"Don't waste anymore ammo. Fall back!"

Everyone watched the Daleks advance in stunned disbelief. As the troops fell back, the Daleks advanced over the ground they occupied, shouting, "Exterminate!" The Dalek's lasers made a piercing whine as several troops fell, dead before they hit the pavement. The entire area had been rigged with C4 explosives. They slowed the Daleks but not by much. Landry wondered what happen if a charge went off while a Dalek was touching it, but unfortunately, none of them came close enough to answer that question.

Using trucks, tanks, and sandbags, a narrow corridor had been created on the street. It was a gauntlet that the Daleks had to go through or take the long way around. If the Daleks tried to fly, they would have to go over those tanks. As it was, the tanks were already firing on the Daleks, with no effect. The Daleks, crying, "Exterminate," destroyed the tanks with single shots from their lasers. The troops were retreating in earnest now, making their way a second gauntlet protecting the mobile base.

A curious sound met the ears of Jeffrey Tyler, and Generals O'Neill and Landry. It was like the muted roar of time itself and as they looked around. A blue box had appeared. All three men turned to look at it, agape with disbelief. When the doors of the Police Public Call Box opened, out stepped Colonels Carter and Mitchell, followed by the rest of SG1, two other SG members, two Jaffa warriors, a formidable looking woman, Rose Tyler, and the Doctor. Woolsy had made his way outside and also looked at the new comers. Everyone who saw them wondered how they all fit in that little blue box.

O'Neill came to his senses first. "Daleks are on their way. We have to retreat."

The Doctor looked around at his surroundings. He saw the soldiers falling back. He saw the men dying. He saw the steel gauntlet of trucks and tanks creating a narrow corridor the Daleks would have to navigate. He saw a series of electrical generators. Large bundles of cables waiting to be connected to something and his TARDIS in the middle of it all.

Without a word, the Doctor ran to the cables and picked on of them up. He connected one end to the generator. He through the cable in the direction of the TARDIS and it unraveled all the way. He connected two more cables to the generator using his sonic screw driver and then went over to a truck on one side of the gauntlet. Using his sonic screwdriver to open the hood, he split on cable, connecting one end to the frame and the other end to the positive terminal on the battery. He took the second cable to a truck on the other side of the gauntlet and repeated the process. Running back to the TARDIS, he opened the door and took the third cable in, connecting it to the console.

Coming back out with a tennis ball in his hand., the Doctor surveyed the scene and nodded. "Okay, I've created an electrical conduit using the trucks on either side of the road, which will create electrical arcing across the corridor you created trapping the Daleks in an electromagnetic field created by your generators and boosted by my TARDIS thereby creating an electrical disturbance of several million terrawatts that the Daleks will be completely unable to withstand." He said all of this very quickly.

"So it'll fry the Daleks?" asked O'Neill.

"Like eggs."

Now the troops were retreating through the gauntlet. Half the number that had been awaiting the Daleks didn't make it. They all came to hold position with the Generals, SG1, and the Doctor. The Daleks entered the corridor. All of the troops looked to the Generals, who both stood firm. Once all four Daleks were between the trucks, the Doctor threw the tennis ball at the TARDIS console, hitting the switch and activating the generator. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the generator, boosting it's capacity. Though nobody could see the electrical arcing, the effects were apparent.

The Daleks had frozen in a grim parody of a pause button on a video cassette recorder. They began to scream long, drawn out notes and smoke rose from their domes. One of the Dalek's chestplate blew outward along with several panels of its lower body. Another Dalek's dome blew off like a rocket. A third Dalek broke in half, pieces flying in all directions. The fourth Dalek remained intact, but the light of his eyestalk went out and the dome lights shattered. Once the scream died down, and the Daleks stopped exploding, the Doctor switched off his makeshift electrical conduit.

Cheering erupted among the troops. Generals Landry and O'Neill both started laughing. Vala Mal Doran kissed the Doctor on the cheek. Woolsy looked supremely relieved and Tyler looked as if he had been doused with cold water.

"So that's it?" asked Tyler. "It's over?"

"No," said the Doctor, "there's four more left, and I assure you, they won't fall for this one again. Their leader is unusually clever, even for a Dalek and that's saying something." The Doctor walked up to the intact Dalek and began pushing it toward the mobile base. "This one may still be alive. It's transport unit is quite useless now. We'll have to open it to communicate with the creature inside. We'll need to be careful. They aren't defenseless."

"You said that they're little green blobs," said Sam.

"Yes, they're little green blobs with tentacles that they can strangle you with and will readily do so. Other than that, they're quite helpless."

Jeffrey Tyler suddenly seemed to remember why he was there. "Excuse me, Doctor, I am Jeffrey Tyler, and I am in charge of this operation. I demand you stop. That creature will be taken and interrogated by us, if it is alive."

The Doctor left the Dalek and walked up to Tyler. "Really? Then why didn't you stop the Daleks?"

"Really, Doctor, I..." but Tyler trailed off.

"If you're in charge, then that implies you're in control of something, and when I arrived everyone was retreating, which most definitely, certainly, almost positively, kind-of, I'm pretty sure implies that you were not in control of the situation whereas upon my return I was immediately able to stop the Dalek advance and that leads me to the question, 'Which agency has jurisdiction?'"

"The International Oversight Advisory."

"I'm pretty sure that is an organization with the United Nations and are you a ranking official within the United Nations?"

"No, Doctor, I am with the U. S. Department of Defense."

"Oh, that's nice, but since this is an IOA affair, wouldn't that mean an officer of the UN is in charge?"

"This is U. S. soil."

"And you've already stated that the United States has deferred to the IOA."

"Yes, it has."

The Doctor smiled. He turned to Woolsy. "Are you the IOA representative here?"

Woolsy said, "I am. My name is Richard Woolsy."

"Have you read my file, Richard. You don't mind if I call you Richard?"

"I have read your file, Doctor...and Richard is fine."

"Right. Since this is a UN operation to which the United States has deferred, does the Department of Defense have any authority over me in this affair?"

"They do not."

The Doctor turned back to Tyler and said, "Well, Jeffrey, I am the Doctor. I occasionally work for the United Nations International Taskforce in an advisory capacity and I do have legitimate credentials with that agency and before you start exerting your authority I would recommend that you speak to the nearest UNIT command and find out exactly how I work."

General O'Neill stepped toward the Doctor and said, "Umm, Doctor, you have been stranded on a planet where these things came from with SG1 and now you have come back along with what is clearly a Goa'uld and two of her Jaffa warriors. I'm not the brightest guy here, but I think an update is in order, don't you? I mean, the other four Daleks don't look like they've come out. I think we may have five minutes."

"The Goa'uld lady is alright," said Mitchell. "She's along to see what she can do against the Daleks. They got her people pretty spooked."

Several guns were now raised in Bastet's direction. She looked completely unconcerned. She directed her Jaffa not to raise their weapons.

"Just the same," said O'Neill, "I'd rather be sure. Have we met a nice Goa'uld before? Unless I'm mistaken, they call themselves Tok'Ra. They also don't keep Jaffa." O'Neill made a hand signal instructing Bastet to approach. "Why are you here, and why should I trust you?"

When she spoke, it was without vocal distortion. "I am here because it is my fault the Daleks are here. As for trust, I see no reason why you should trust me. You don't even know me."

"That is an excellent point. In fact, that is exactly what I was thinking." O'Neill turned to SG1 and said, "Unarmed. I don't want her or her Jaffa carrying any weapons of any kind. I will let her participate and walk free under that condition only. Haddar and Benson; you will stay with her and her Jaffa at all times and check in with Colonel Mitchell every fifteen minutes. Understood?" Turning back to Bastet, he said, "Can you agree with that?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good, then we should all get along really good."

Tyler was beside himself. "Wha-as simple as that? You're not going to interrogate her? You're not going make her take tests?"

O'Neill sighed loudly and said, "I don't know if you realize this, but we don't have time to play games. We've got four virtually indestructible aliens that are in absolute control of the SGC, could be ferrying in more of their kind even as we speak, and very little time to argue about the virtue of a woman belonging to a fallen enemy claiming to be friendly. If she's lying we can handle it. There's only three of them and they're on our turf."

The Doctor said, "Well, they wouldn't be ferrying more in."

"And how do you know?"

"Their race is nearly extinct. These Daleks are the last of their kind. Nobody to ferry in. Unfortunately, Bastet was wanting our help with these guys. Apparently, they were being unusually careful about secretly experimenting on her people and she wanted it to stop. She knew I could help, so she called on me. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to clear up."

The Doctor unplugged his TARDIS from the makeshift conduit and went back to the Dalek and pushed him the rest of the way into the trailer that was serving as the mobile base. Once inside, he used his sonic screwdriver to force the casing open. Unfortunately, this Dalek had also died from the electrical overload. Sam came in and looked at the Dalek. Most women would likely have been disgusted, but Sam was absolutely fascinated. She leaned over the blob, and her eyes were alight. She did meet the occasional genetic alien, but they were extremely rare and she marveled at them every time she saw them.

The Doctor grinned. "Most people get sick after one glance at a Dalek."

Sam laughed. "I was always a little bit of a tomboy. What most people called disgusting, I called chemistry."

"Yeah, I bet you never played much with Barbies."

"Well, actually I did, but they weren't my favorites."

"Tinker toys?"

"Cabbage Patch Kids."

"Ahh! I should have known," said the Doctor.

"Doctor, you say these once resembled humans? I can't imagine ever becoming something like this. You said that this was artificially induced evolution."

"Yes, the Daleks were created in the midst of a nuclear holocaust. Sadly, there's nothing we can learn from this fellow."

"What do you want to learn?"

"If my suspicions are correct about what these Daleks have planned."

"And what do you suspect?"

The Doctor said nothing, but abruptly stood up and left.

As he left, Rose approached and asked, "What did you find out?"

"Unfortunately, nothing."

Rose quickly said, "Listen, that map in the SGC has the location of thousands of planets on it. The Daleks can go to any one of them."

And many of those worlds were inhabited by humans.

Rose continued. "You know, the last Dalek we met was willing to use what he considered impure DNA to rebuild the Dalek Empire."

That was why the Daleks wanted to get to Earth. Had they begun their excursions already? Was that why they only met four Daleks? There was only one way to find out.


End file.
